Amethyst: The Beginning
by Lady Artemis
Summary: Follow the trials and tribulations a young girl goes through on her journey to become Gotham's next hero.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** All characters (except Julia, Adrian, Alex, Julio Alvarez, and Adriana Alvarez) are not owned by me and are used without permission solely for the entertainment of fan-fiction readers.

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! I hope that my revision of Amethyst makes things a little clearer about Julia. I'm hoping that this new angle on the new Batgirl will help you see her more as a whole person and not just Batgirl.

**Prologue**

Hey, my name is Julia Alvarez, and I am here to tell you MY story. The story about how I became Batgirl. I know you must all be expecting the usual story about some run away kid who wanted to "save" the world. Yeah well, my story is nothing like that. It may have some similarities, but mostly, it is way different. I guess I should start from the very beginning.

I was born on April 14, 2026 to Adriana and Julio Alvarez in East L.A. Yeah, you heard me right, East L.A. What, were you expecting some rich high- class family from Gotham, or maybe the exact opposite? Sorry to disappoint you, but I was born into your regular middle class Hispanic family in East L.A. We lived in one of the better neighborhoods in that area, in our own little house on West Ridge Drive, with a little garden and all, my dad was into the gardening thing.

My parents met when my mom was in her senior year at high school and my dad was in his first year at college. My mom always says it was love at first sight, and maybe it was for her, but I personally don't believe in that. My parents would even argue over who fell in love with who first sometimes, can you believe that? Well they went steady all through college until they graduated. My dad graduated as an electronics engineer and my mother as a physical therapist.

After they got settled pretty well after a tough few first years, they got married. My mom told me it was a lovely ceremony at a park by the beach, but that as it was ending, a really big rainstorm hit. Everyone ended up running for cover and they had to move the reception to my grandparent's house. The last to arrive were the very wet, but very radiant newlyweds.

My brother was born five years later, on May 4, 2017. He was named Adrian Alvarez, after my mother, because my father said he look so much like her. He has her nose and her soft brown eyes. By that time, my dad was working at a rather large company programming their computers and running their computer systems and was about to get a big promotion to General Manager. My dad was a really smart man, and no one could do his job the way he did it, which was perfectly. Shortly after my brother was born, my parents moved the family to that perfect house on West Ridge Drive and out of the small apartment they had been living in. It was a two level house, with four rooms upstairs and a family room, living room, dining room and kitchen downstairs. It even had a small basement for storage.

When my brother was four, I was born. I was named after my father, because they said I had his golden-honey colored eyes and curly hair. And I was welcomed happily into the house on West Ridge Drive. Growing up in Los Angeles was great! My brother and I would play with the neighborhood kids at a daycare our neighbor, Mrs. Rodriguez, ran while mom and dad were at work. Then, our mom would pick us up and take us home, where she would make dinner while Adrian would watch me in the family room. Then my dad would come home and we would give him huge hugs and have dinner together. After dinner our dad would play with us and read us a bedtime story. Then we would go to sleep.

Adrian and I were not like most kids, who liked to play with their video games and watch television and play with action figures. Adrian taught me to read when I was four by reading me his books from school. We would read together and play with puzzles and problem-solving toys. We rather help our father with the gardening or play outside in the yard than watch television. Back then, Adrian and I shared a room, so we would talk into the night about what we thought about the world. I moved into my own room when I started school.

I started school when I was five. I started at Parker School Pre-K. Adrian was in the third grade at Seaside Elementary School a few blocks away. I hated Pre-k. I would be so bored because they were teaching the ABCs and 123s, and I had already learned that with Adrian. So I started taking Adrian's old school books to look at and read during school. The teacher noticed me not paying attention during class and when she saw what I was reading she called my mother that same day and told her I should take a test to enter elementary school. I took the test and was moved into the first grade at Seaside Elementary the next week.

I was always a straight A student. I studied whenever I could and would even study things we weren't even giving in class. I just loved to learn so much. It was like I had to know everything there was. I passed on the second, and then third grade. Always with straight As and top honors. In the middle of third grade, my brother Alex was born.

Alex was born on a rainy day in September. It was September 2, 2033. He inherited our tanned complexion and dark brown hair, along with my mother's soft brown eyes and my father's nose. My mother quit her job after he was born to have more time to take care of us. I never understood why she did that, but she always told me that her children's future was the most important thing to her.

I had just turned seven and was beginning to realize that my studies were not enough to keep me occupied. I saw Adrian, who was about to turn eleven and in the fifth grade, had taken up basketball and I decided that sports was a good option. I marveled at the way they ran up and down the court and passed the ball. But I knew that I wouldn't play basketball. I was never good with the whole dribbling thing. So I picked the last sport any parent would expect their seven-year-old daughter to pick. Karate. My parent's were surprised, but they supported my decision and enrolled me in karate classes. My world changed, for I had found my calling in martial arts.

I started karate with the beginners. The first year was very hard for me. I had trouble coordinating the moves and even more performing them. But I soon learned that if I practiced a lot and worked really hard, I could do it better than anyone. I began to progress. Soon, I was this eight-year-old girl taking class with ten-year-olds. My third year, when I was nine, I started progressing at a really rapid pace. By the end of that year, I had moved up three belt levels, to brown. A few months after I turned ten, I graduated to the black belt level.

That summer I decided that I wanted to broaden my knowledge of the martial arts. So I enrolled in judo. I also continued to practice karate during judo hours. That fall, I started sixth grade and I also got obsessed with gymnastics. Plus I was a straight A student in middle school. So you can imagine my schedule. I had school from eight to two in the afternoon. Then, the school's gymnastics team practiced from two thirty until four. Then, I took the ten-minute bus ride to Judo class, which was from four thirty to six thirty. Dad would pick me up and we would be home by before seven. At home, I would eat quickly, take a shower and then hit the books until about nine or ten, when I would go to sleep. On Saturdays I would get up at six thirty to go to gymnastics at a private facility half an hour away. I would practice there from seven thirty to nine, and then I'd go to Judo at ten. I'd be home at around twelve thirty. At home I'd eat lunch and study the rest of the day. Sundays were my day off. No studying, no sports. Just me and my family or friends. It was my day to chill.

When I turned twelve and was finishing the seventh grade, my mom was in a car accident. She was coming home from the groceries, when a hummer bike ran a stoplight, slamming into her car. She was taken to the hospital with internal bleeding. She died later that night. I was at home with a babysitter and Alex while my dad was at the hospital with Adrian. It was May 17, 2038. We were all devastated. Alex didn't understand that much, he was only four. He would just ask for "_mami_" a lot. It was harder for Adrian and me. My dad was a total wreck. He got obsessed with work and we spent more time with relatives and friends than with him.

The funeral passed and weeks passed. We tried really hard to get back to normal life. That year was the first time I got Bs ever. I stopped going to judo and gymnastics that summer. Adrian took over the house, because dad was always at work. We went downhill that whole year until my father finally had a wake-up call when I took some pills and had to get my stomach pumped. He realized that we had to change things big time. He moved us from our lovely little house to a big house in a fancy neighborhood the summer of 2039. My dad had gotten another promotion to vice-president and a huge raise.

The new house was huge. It had six rooms upstairs, four bedrooms and two studies. Downstairs there was a kitchen, living room, family room, dining room, and a den with a pool table. The backyard was enormous and there even was a pool with a diving board and slide. Alex loved the new house. He would play all day and would beg us to take him to the pool. Adrian and I grew to love it as well. My dad started spending more time with us and less at the office. Things got a lot better.

During the summer, I happened to venture up into the attic, where my dad had put all of my mother's belongings. I started to rummage through the boxes and came upon a chest that was locked. Of course, being the curious thing I am, I got my dad's tools and popped that lock open. I had curious skills at my age. It was a box with my mom's journal, pictures, old letters, yearbooks from high school, and an old shoebox among other odds and ends. Inside the shoebox I found newspaper clippings. They were all about this "Batman" figure that had shown up in Gotham City in New York a long time ago. The clippings kept up with the appearance of "Robin", "Batgirl", and years later, "Nightwing". I found articles about notorious criminals and the battles fought between them and the "Batman" as well. One by one, they all disappeared, except the "Batman". He had been alone for a long time now . . . a very long time. He was showing up less and less, but he was always there. The last clipping was from May 12, 2038, just a few days before my mom died. It was just so. I don't know how to describe it, but it got me "hooked". I started researching the "Batman" on the Internet. I became an expert on anything that had to do with Batman and his protégées. I also started getting crazy ideas about becoming a vigilante. Later, I started making plans. I thought I would never actually fulfill them, but they helped me have something in common with my mother, something to keep her memory alive. It was something that was mine and no one else's.

That fall, my dad enrolled all three of us at Renbrook Academy. I was to begin high school (9th grade), Adrian was starting eleventh grade, and Alex was to start first grade that year. Now is when things really get interesting.

- - - - - -

I decided to retake this story and revise it a little and finish it of course. Hope you enjoy the story . . . it's an idea in process which I would like to broaden on (maybe a series). READ AND REVIEW!

- Lady Artemis -


	2. Chapter 1: Thirteen with Promise

**Disclaimer:** All characters (except Julia, Adrian, Alex, Julio Alvarez, Nathan, Aunt Marina, Erik, Alicia, Danny, and Kitty) are not owned by me and are used without permission solely for the entertainment of fan-fiction readers.

**Author's Note:** This is chapter 1 of several that help you get to know Julia and what she is going through. She still has a long way to go before she becomes Batgirl, but this way you will know WHY and HOW she got to that point. Obsession is a weird thing. Julia is a good example of that.

**Chapter 1: Thirteen With Promise**

I typed furiously on my laptop, stopping only to push my glasses up the ridge of my nose. I was working on my final essay for English class. I paused a moment to run a hand through my curly brown hair in thought before continuing to type.

"Julia, time for dinner!" called my dad from the kitchen.

I saved my work and then stood up from my chair. I stretched out my arms over my head before slipping into the bathroom. I stood in front of the mirror, where I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and washed my hands and face with cold water.

"JULIA!" yelled my brother Adrian this time.

I rolled my bright golden-honey eyes. My brother could be so impatient sometimes. I dried my face off quickly before trotting out of the bathroom and downstairs. I walked into the kitchen and leaned against the refrigerator.

"You rang?" I quipped.

My brother was not so amused by the remark, "Go sit at the table", he ordered.

_He must be in a bad mood today. Great_

"Yes, your highness", I said sarcastically.

I walked into the dining room, plopping down into a chair at the table. Adrian and my dad entered a moment later, carrying plates of food. They placed them down in the middle of the table.

They ate in silence for several minutes before dad looked up at me, "So, have you decided what High School you want to attend? I got a letter from Renbrook Academy yesterday. It's the top school in the state"

My jaw dropped, "They accepted me?" I asked.

My dad smiled, "Yes, they did. And they also accepted you for the Gifted Student Scholarship"

I jumped up and flew around the table to hug dad. I had wanted so bad to be able to attend that Academy. I would be able to get ahead in my studies there and it would also help for me get into a good university.

"They also accepted Adrian and Alex. So you are all going to be together! Isn't that great?"

Adrian dropped his fork. I almost choked on my drink. Alex just giggled.

"What? You're taking me out of Seaside High?" Adrian asked.

"Now Adrian, Renbrook is a much better school and it is closer. Seaside is just too far away. I know it's hard switching schools in the middle of high school, but I'm sure you'll adjust", my dad said.

Adrian remained silent. He didn't talk to my dad the rest of the week.

- - - - - -

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I groaned from under the covers of my bed. My arm slithered out from under the covers and reached for the alarm clock. I hit the OFF button and grabbed my glasses from the nightstand before my arm disappeared back under the covers. A moment later, the covers flew off, revealing a wide-awake Julia.

I jumped up to my feet and started doing some stretches. After a ten-minute session of stretches, JI walked over to the bathroom and flipped on the light. Leaning over the sink, I washed my hands, face, and brushed my teeth. I smiled at the mirror, inspecting my bracers. Then, I ran my hands through my hair to settle the curls into place. One of the ups of having curly hair was that you hardly ever had to brush it.

I moved back into my room, opened the closet, and started rummaging through it, throwing clothing onto the bed as I found pieces of my uniform. A black skirt, red t-shirt, and a black jacket with the school insignia embroidered on it. Then finally, a pair of black boots fell with a thud to the floor. I quickly got dressed. I had been attending orientation classes last week for new students, but today was the first day of normal classes.

Sitting down on the floor next to her book bag, I took out my schedule and read it over.

"Hmmm. Art, Chemistry, Literature, Computer Skills, and Advanced Algebra", I mumbled as I stuffed the necessary books into my bag.

Zipping up the bag, I stood up and walked out of the room. I ran downstairs and dropped my bag by the front door before heading back to the kitchen. Dad was fixing breakfast.

"I thought I told you I didn't need to get up to make me breakfast. I can manage myself", I told him.

Dad flipped a pancake in the air, "I know, but I wanted to make you something special on your first day of school", he replied.

I smiled. Just then, Adrian walked in, coaxing a sleepy Alex to sit down at the table.

I went back to my bag and pulled out my laptop. I took it over to the dining room table and turned it on. Once it had booted up, I went to check my emails.

"You have mail", came a female voice from the computer.

"Open inbox", I said. I had made the voice command program to respond only to my voice.

"You have three new messages", the computer said.

"How many junk mail, Kitty?" I asked.

"No junk mail today, Julia", answered Kitty.

I raised an eyebrow, "Who are they from?"

"One from your Aunt Marina, one from your pen pal in Italy, and one from Nathan Lane", replied Kitty.

"Nathan Lane?"

"The boy you met during Orientation Week"

"Oh, him"

"What's wrong with him? I thought he was cute and sweet"

"I don't know Kitty, I'm just not good with boys. They never seem to get past the fact that I could kick any of their butts and beat them in sports, plus get better grades. At my old school, they avoided me. I think they were scared of me", I explained.

Kitty chuckled, "And with good reason. There is a reason you are a black belt in karate AND judo. You just happen to be really good at sports. And really smart too"

I sighed, "I know Kitty, but you know boys. Girls are not supposed to be competition for them. I'm the exception, so they sort of despise me a bit. I just hope that high school will help them get over that. That cliché is so wrong"

The screen suddenly went black and a face appeared. It was a lovely young woman of about twenty. She was Asian with long, silky black hair and dark eyes. She smiled sweetly at me.

"Don't worry Julia, things are looking up. You're going to a new school, with new people. You have a chance to start over", Kitty looked over at Adrian and lowered her voice, "And maybe start getting your plans on you know what going"

I looked at Kitty, "I don't know, it just seems so impossible. I want it so bad, but it's going to take a lot of time and work. And time is not something I'm going to have a lot of with this new school. I guess those plans will have to be put on hold for a while"

Kitty frowned, "Just don't put it off forever Julia"

"I won't Kitty. I've worked too hard and waited too long for that. But I still have a long road ahead"

"Julia, stop talking to the computer and eat your breakfast", Adrian said, placing a plate in front of me.

"We'll talk later", whispered Kitty before the screen went black.

I shut the laptop and placed it on the seat next to me. I ate my pancakes quickly, then got up, kissed my dad on the cheek and went to the door, grabbing my laptop as I passed the table. I stuffed it in my bag and opened the door.

"I'll be home by seven", I shouted from the door.

"Don't you want me to drive you?" Adrian asked.

"I'll walk!" I yelled as I closed the door.

- - - - - -

The bell rang, announcing the end of third period. I put my Advanced Algebra textbook in my bag. I got up from my desk and went out into the hall. Students were bustling along the hall, opening and closing lockers, talking, and just plain joking around.

"Julia!" shouted a voice from the crowd of students.

I turned around to face Nathan Lane, the boy I had met during Orientation Week. He ran a hand through is dark blonde hair and his soft brown eyes darted to my own face.

"Hey Nathan. How's your first day been?"

"Oh, it was just dandy. I got lost to my first class, arrived late to my second and I'm sure my History teacher doesn't think too kindly of me. That bird's completely mental!" he said in a thick British accent.

Nathan's parents had moved him and his younger sister, Emily, to Los Angeles from London that summer. They were a very wealthy family and had enrolled their children in the finest school in California, Renbrook Academy. His sister Emily was eleven and in the sixth grade. That was pretty much all I knew about him.

I smirked, "Sounds like a great first day"

"Things can only get better from 'ere", said Nathan.

"Right. So, what class do you have next?" I asked.

Nathan pulled out his schedule from his pocket and looked at it, "Literature with Mrs. Sundar"

"Me too. Its in room 412, so we have to cross the courtyard to the Michaels Building"

Nathan reached out to open the door to the courtyard, "By all means, lead the way luv", he said.

I grinned and walked through the door. This was going to be an interesting friendship.

- - - - - -

"So, I guess we're ready for our History presentation on Monday" Nathan said.

"Don't try to change the subject Nathan", I snapped.

"Blimey Julia, I told you I don't want to talk about it!"

My face softened, "Nathan, come on, you have to talk about it or you'll go crazy"

Nathan sighed, "Oh, awight. You win again, as usual"

I grinned.

"As I said before, Ashley completely ignored me today. I don't know what I could have done. She even ignored me when I tried to speak to her. I feel dred about it all", Nathan explained.

"Okay, so your girlfriend just ignored you for no apparent reason. Let's see. You're sure that there is nothing you could have done not purposely to upset her?"

"Positive", Nathan answered without hesitation.

I sat quietly for a minute, "What did you guys talk about yesterday?"

Nathan thought for a moment, "We were just gabbing on about exams, classes, then we were planning a date to get some grub today, but I told her how I had to meet you to rehearse for our presentation"

I smacked Nathan across the head, "Duh, you dummy. NEVER break a date with your girlfriend with the excuse, 'I have to study with another girl'. How could you be so stupid?"

Nathan rubbed the back of his head, "The truth really does hurt", but the realization of his mistake had sunk in.

"Crikey, I've been a real git and messed things up", he groaned.

I snickered, "You think?"

Nathan sat down next to me, "What shall I say to her on Monday?"

I looked shocked, "Oh my god, you're still here? MONDAY! Have you completely lost your mind? GO NOW!"

Nathan shot up off the sofa and made his way to the front door. He looked back at me.

"Thanks luv", said Nathan.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever"

Nathan shut the door behind him as he left the apartment.

"And you wonder why you have problems with boys", came Kitty's voice.

I turned around to face my laptop, "Get real Kitty. Nathan is just a good friend. Believe me, him and me . . . way too weird", I shuddered at the thought.

Kitty sighed, "If you say so", she replied before the screen went black.

Frustrated, I fell onto the sofa.

- - - - - -

Back flip, back flip, forward double flip, handstand, perfect landing. Breathing heavily, I dropped my raised arms to my sides.

"Your getting really good at that", said Kitty.

I grinned, "Practice makes perfect"

"So, how did you get permission to use the gym so late?" asked Kitty.

"It really wasn't that hard being a high honor roll student, star athlete, and editor of the school paper. I just had to ask"

"How humble of you"

I stuck my tongue out at the laptop set on the bleachers.

"How mature", joked Kitty.

I laughed, "Okay, no more goofing around. Let's get to the combat exercises"

"Julia, have you come up with a name yet? I mean every good super hero needs a catchy name"

I raised an eyebrow, "Super hero? Kitty, I prefer to call it vigilante, at least until I find out I actually have super powers.

"Well, you still need a name. Any ideas?"

"Kitty, let's climb that mountain when we get to it. For now, let's concentrate on my training", I answered.

"Okay, but I still think a few ideas would be a good idea"

I sighed, "Alright Kitty, I'll think of a few ideas. Maybe do some sketches too"

Kitty smiled widely before pretending to get serious, "Okay, back to training"

"YES! Now we get to the good stuff", I cried.

"This should be quite simple for you with all the gymnastics you do. Let's do rooftops. If you want, I can give you a visual"

I nodded, "A visual would be nice"

Kitty's screen went blank for a moment before an image appeared. It was a badly taped home video. There were sirens wailing in the background nearby. The police were arriving at the seen of a crime, where they quickly surrounded the building and entered. A few minutes later, they returned, leading several handcuffed men and then, out came Commissioner Gordon leading Poison Ivy. Then, the camera suddenly focused on the rooftop of the building.

'Oh my god', said the voice of the camera's owner.

The reason of the owner's comment became apparent, because out of the shadows had appeared Batgirl, and running at her side was no other than the Boy Wonder himself, Robin. Zooming in, the camera caught as the two young vigilantes moved swiftly and effortlessly across the nearby rooftops, obviously satisfied with the apprehension of the notorious Poison Ivy and her goons.

Coming up to the edge at the end of the string of rooftops, Batgirl motioned Robin to stop. Standing on the edge, Batgirl put her hands on her hips as she assessed the distance between them and the looming skyscraper across the avenue. A breeze blew from behind, causing Batgirl's hair and cape to move with it. It was the perfect picture of the female vigilante.

Pulling out a grappling hook, Batgirl took aim and fired before leaping of the building. She free fell until the line tightened and jerked, pulling Batgirl up. She flew up and let go of the cable with perfect timing, doing a simple somersault, she landed in a crouching position. She moved across the rooftop quickly, checking it before coming back to find Robin landing on his feet with a thud. She motioned him to follow her and he nodded. The two vigilantes ran, performing amazing acrobatic moves, flips, and breath- taking leaps to cross the chain of rooftops until the night engulfed them.

Kitty's face appeared on the screen, "So? What do you think? Not to hard, huh?"

I was still getting over the video, "Wow that was incredible. It looks so easy. And she was just . . . wow"

Kitty smiled, "Makes you tingly all over, doesn't it?"

"You have no idea"

"How about you whip up a temporary costume and go practice some of those moves on real rooftops?" asked Kitty.

I blinked, I was still picturing the video, Batgirl standing on the ledge, and she had looked so. I wanted that so bad. I looked over at Kitty.

"Ready when you are"

- - - - - -

A dark figure crept along the rooftops of L.A., keeping to the shadows so as not to be seen. Suddenly, she ran full speed ahead at the looming gap between two business buildings. Leaping into the air, she flew across the gap, somersaulted, and landed on her two feet, arms raised in the air.

"Perfect landing", I said from behind the black ninja mask I had on. It had been a gift from a visiting Japanese judo instructor.

My curly brown hair was tied into a ponytail out of the way. I had on one of my black long-sleeved gymnastics leotards, and over it was a pair of tight black exercise pants I also used for gymnastics. They were held up by one of my karate belts (a dark purple one).

It had taken me a while to decide what type of shoes I would wear. I had first opted for my black boots I used for school, but they would make too much noise, so I had pulled on some comfy black socks and put on a pair of ninja slippers, which had also been a gift from the instructor. Not exactly the best costume, but it would do for now.

_"I told you that you would get the hang of it"_, said Kitty's voice in my ear.

_"But I still think you should have used the whole ninja costume"_, she added.

"I know, but I didn't want it to get ruined, but you're right, I should use it. It's much more comfortable than this", I replied.

_"I told you"_

"How far away am I?" I asked.

_"About seven or eight miles"_

"Okay, I'm on my way back"

_"Copy"_

I grinned broadly and began running again. I tried doing several different series of flips, jumps, tumbles, and landings before landing on the rooftop of the apartment building closets to my neighborhood. Climbing down the fire escape, I slipped into the alley below.

I took off the mask and stuffed it into a small backpack on my back. I pulled out a black leather jacket and put it on. Taking out my ponytail with one hand, I pulled out a pair of keys from the jacket's pocket with the other. I pushed the button on it and the alley was suddenly filled with bright light.

Adrian and I had been working on restoring a black Ninja motorcycle from the year 2000. We had worked on it for over a year and had finished it a few months ago. The bike was in better shape than ever and we had put in a new engine to make her run faster and smoother. It was like riding on air whenever I drove her. I had put in automatic shut down/lock and turn on systems, so that with a touch of a button, she was up and running and with another touch, she was locked down.

In a matter of a few minutes I was on my street, Emerald Lane. My house was number 85. My bike silently pulled up to the driveway (I had installed a silencer system into the engine. It was of my own invention. Adrian didn't know about it). I parked it in its spot and jumped off it. I ran around to the back of the house and climbed up the side of the house to the roof. I tiptoed across it until I reached my window, which was open. I slipped in and let out a huge sigh of relief.

"That was fast", said Kitty. The laptop was on my desk.

"This I can get used to", I replied.

- - - - - -

I looked out the window of the car as it flew over the highway. I watched as other hover cars flew along the highway beside us. The highway was damp from that morning's downpour and the sky was still cloudy as we sped down highway 59. My dad was concentrated on the highway and Adrian was next to him in the passenger seat studying the map. He knew the way by heart, but he didn't have anything better to do. Soft Jazz music played on the car's stereo system. Alex was fast asleep next to me. I turned my MP3 player back on and rock music blared into my ears. Everyone was listening to that stupid electronic music these days, but I preferred my rock music anytime. My latest discovery was a new band called Ionic.

We were on our way to visit my Aunt Marina in Sacramento. I always enjoyed visiting Aunt Marina, it was like taking a break from normal life. Her husband, Joel Santos, had walked out on her and their two kids years ago, but Aunt Marina kept everything together and was a really amazing single mother. My cousin Alicia, was eighteen and graduating from high school this year. She planned on studying architecture at the University of California. Her brother, Erik, was thirteen like me. Erik and I used to not get along at all, but ever since I got into martial arts, he always wants to see the new moves I've learned. I even show a few moves every now and then.

We finally made it to Sacramento after a very long, very boring drive. It had been a while since we had visited our aunt. The last time we came was before mom died . . .

We pulled up to a small farmhouse. It was a pretty old house with a huge yard. Every kind of plant you could imagine made a garden that spread all around the house. Huge trees shaded the yard and house from the sun. We were miles from the city. Horses and cows grazed peacefully in the paddocks at the outskirts of the property. The clucking of chickens filled my ears as I stepped out of the car and a cool breeze blew across my face.

Aunt Marina came out of the house cleaning her hands on her apron. I grinned and ran up to her, engulfing her in a huge hug. Adrian hugged her next and then Alex. She and dad exchanged kisses on the cheeks.

"I can't believe you are all here. It's been so long, you're all so big!" she said happily.

"I know, it has been a while. Where are Alicia and Erik?" asked dad.

"ERIK!" called out my aunt.

A few moments later, Erik came around the back of the house, dusting his pants off. He was a few inches taller than me, about Adrian's height. He had black hair and dark eyes like his mother, but the chocolate colored skin of his father. He had grown a lot and he was really strong. I would enjoy kicking his butt later that day.

"_Mi hijo_, where is your sister?" asked my aunt.

"She's checking the horses", answered Erik.

We all said hi and began catching up. Aunt Marina ushered us all towards the house. She opened the screen door and led us all into the house.

"Jonathan! They're here!" she cried out.

We heard heavy footsteps come down the stairs and a man in his early forties appeared before us. He had dark blond hair, steely gray eyes, and tanned skin from working on the farm. His face looked kind and the corners of his eyes wrinkled as he smiled. It looked to me that my aunt had finally found the man she had been waiting for.

"Everyone, this is my fiancé, Jonathan", my aunt said.

"FIANCE?" we all asked, "Why didn't you tell us, _Tia_?" I added.

"I wanted to surprise you all, of course" my aunt said between giggles. She seemed like a young girl of twenty. I was so happy for her.

We all sat in the living room and got to know Jonathan better. Aunt Marina went back to the kitchen and I followed her. I helped set the table and finish the last minute cooking.

Finally, Alicia arrived, her face flushed from running. She was very pretty like my aunt with long black hair and dark almond shaped eyes. Her complexion was lighter than my aunt's perfectly tanned skin, but she had a slightly more curved frame than my aunt. Alicia was always smiling and always carried herself proudly. She reminded me of my mother a lot.

After dinner, we all laughed and talked late into the night. When we couldn't stay awake any longer, we all retired upstairs to the rooms. I slept with Alicia in her room while Adrian slept in Erik's room, and Dad and Alex slept in the guest room.

**The Next Day**

"Wait for me!" yelled Erik, running to catch up to me. I ran down the familiar trail through the woods, flying over logs, rocks, and tree roots. I finally stopped at the river that cut through the forest. The water ran smoothly along its course, flowing as far as I could see.

My cousin stopped next to me, out of breath.

"Common, we're almost there" I said out of breath.

"You keep saying that", my cousin complained.

I smiled at my tired cousin and then grinned evilly at him. I pushed him into the cool river, diving in after him. We splashed at each other and wrestled. Exhausted, we sat at the river's edge, gazing at trees.

"Remember when we used to do this all the time when we were little?" I asked.

"Yeah", replied Erik.

"I remember the stars being so beautiful here at night"

"Well, they are"

I laughed. My cousin always made me feel better.

"I'm glad you guys came back", Erik said.

I smiled, "I missed you too. And I'm glad we came back to visit too"

I stood up and brushed the grass off my clothes.

"We still have a little farther to go", I said, helping my cousin up.

"Can we try and not run this time?" he pleaded.

"Sure" I said.

- - - - - -

READ AND REVIEW!

- Lady Artemis -


	3. Chapter 2: Sweet Sixteen

**Disclaimer:** All characters (except Julia, Adrian, Alex, Julio Alvarez, Nathan, Aunt Marina, Erik, Alicia, Danny, and Kitty) are not owned by me and are used without permission solely for the entertainment of fan-fiction readers.

**Author's Note:** This chapter catches up with Julia three years after chapter 1. Her plans on becoming a vigilante are more serious and more of a reality now. Next chapter will follow Julia's time studying the martial arts and traveling around the globe. And her arrival back to L.A.

**Chapter 2: Sweet Sixteen**

"How does it look?" I asked.

"WOW, it looks wonderful!" replied Kitty.

I grinned as I stood in my new costume. I had created a new material that was a mix of leather and Kevlar. Style and protection rolled into one. I called it Kleather. My new suit consisted of black Kleather pants and tank top covered by a long Kleather jacket that reached past my knees. My mask was black with dark purple trim, covering my face all the way up to my forehead and halfway down my cheeks, leaving my mouth and chin exposed. My hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail as always to keep it out of the way. My utility belt was metallic and held all the necessities of a vigilante. To finish it off, I wore black Kleather gloves and black boots (I think it's ridiculous for a vigilante to wear heels).

"Well, wish me luck on my first official night on the town as a vigilante"

"Good luck, and don't worry, I got your back!" replied Kitty.

I nodded before disappearing out the window.

- - - - - -

"HELP!" screamed a young woman as she ran down the alley.

Behind, there were two thugs chasing her. As she rounded the corner, she found herself at a dead end. She whirled around desperately, knowing the thugs would be there any second. She backed into a corner, heaving deep breaths and trying to calm herself. Then, the two men rounded the corner and stopped dead. Both wore grins on their faces as they slowly closed in on the young woman.

"Please. I don't have any money! Please, don't hurt me!" the woman begged. Her mascara was running from the tears in her eyes and her dirty blonde hair stuck to her sweaty face. Her gray eyes were wild and scared as the men began to laugh.

"Aw, the poor little girl is scared of us Jimmy. Ain't that a laugh? I guess we'll have to give her a reason to be scared of us, won't we?" said one man.

"Yup, how's about we scare her real good Paulie?" replied Jimmy.

The woman looked at them with wide eyes as they moved closer and closer. Paulie pulled out a switchblade and Jimmy rubbed his knuckles.

That was when a figure dropped down on Paulie, knocking him to the ground. The young woman scrambled behind a dumpster, terrified as she watched the whole scene. She was shocked to see that the figure was that of a girl, no older than 18. She wore a very form-fitting outfit and seemed quite angry.

"It's not nice to pick on girls. Didn't your mother teach you to be nice to girls?" I asked harshly.

I kicked Jimmy in the gut and then kneed him in the face. Jimmy fell to the ground, clutching his nose.

"You broke my nose!" he whined pathetically.

"You're lucky that's all I did to you, you piece of scum", I replied.

Paulie stood up behind me, switchblade in hand, ready to attack.

"LOOK OUT!" warned the woman.

I ducked as Paulie swiped the switchblade in the air over my head. I brought back my elbow into Paulie's chest, knocking the air out of him. Then I spun around and kicked his feet out from under him. Paulie lay on the floor groaning. I tied up the two men and went over to the young woman.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I've been better, but I'll survive, thanks to you", the woman replied. Then, she looked up at me, "Who ARE you?"

"Just someone that wants to help", I replied as I turned to leave.

"WAIT!" said the woman. I turned to face her. "Thank you", said the woman sincerely.

I nodded, fired my grappling hook into the air, and disappeared over the wall of the alley.

The woman smiled and walked out of the alley quickly, her heels tapping on the cement.

Up above, I watched her leave safely before running off into the night.

- - - - - -

"You know that if that woman hadn't warned you, you might have gotten seriously hurt", reprimanded Kitty.

"I know, I know. I got careless. Does this mean more simulators and training?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Of course it does! This was a test and you definitely did not do as well as expected. But it was your first time out on the street, so it really was not that bad. You know that you need to have everything down perfectly if you want to survive out there every night! Your life is one the line every time you go out there and you have to be 100 percent ready!"

I nodded, "As always Kitty, your right. I'll start simulations."

Kitty sighed as Julia left the room. It was hard enough training an aspiring vigilante. She also had to control the head strong, reckless teenager in her as well. Good thing Julia was such a computer wiz.. If I hadn't created her, Kitty didn't know how I would have gotten this far.

Kitty had also tried to keep the news of Batman reappearing in Gotham away from me. She decided to tell me when the time was right. She believed the news would only lead me to Gotham. She didn't want to give me any reason to go there. Not yet. Not until I was prepared. Under HER terms.

- - - - - -

Nathan Lane rubbed his forehead and sighed. He looked up and signaled me to continue.

"Causó risa al licenciado la simplicidad del ama y mandó al barbero que le fuese dando de aquellos libros uno a uno, para ver de qué trataban, pues podía ser hallar algunos que no mereciesen castigo de fuego", I read to him.

Nathan stopped me by raising his hand, "Julia I think I should just drop this friggin' class because let's face it, I'm no bloody good at Spanish!"

I shook my head, "Look Nathan, you just need to try a little harder. It will come to you, okay? Now you read the next part".

Nathan let out another sigh and took a deep breath, "No, dijo la so-bri- na, no hay para qué. per...um... per-do-nar a ninguno, porque todos han sido los... daaa-ñaaa-do-res: mejor será... er...a-rro-ja-llos por las ventanas al patio y hacer un ri-me-ro dellos y pegarles fuego; y, si no, lle-var-los al corral, y allí se hará la... ehm... ho-gue-ra, y no o-fen- de-rá el humo".

I clapped, "Excellent! Nathan, you read perfectly fine, I don't see what the problem is. You'll do fine on your final oral exam. Besides, you got me to help prepare you for it!" I said, winking at him.

"Cervantes is most definitely not easy reading, but I suppose that if I study really hard and get lots of practice, I'll be okay", replied Nathan.

"That's the spirit!" I said cheerfully.

Nathan smiled, "I can't believe that we are graduating this year. And you got to skip a year for cryin' out loud. You are lucky darlin' cause high school's a lot of crock and bull sometimes. But it's hard to believe that next year we'll be off to college!"

"Yeah I know! It's unbelievable!"

"We have finals next month and then we are done. And then there's the prom coming up, but my going to it is rather iffy", he said a bit sadder.

I looked at him. He had been really down lately because he and his girlfriend of two years, Ashley, had broken up a few weeks ago. I had been trying to get him to move on, but it wasn't easy, he had really loved Ashley and it had crushed him that she had been seeing someone else for some time. It had not been a pretty scene when he confronted her about it. Many tears were shed and many harsh words spoken. In the end Nathan ended the relationship and left Ashley standing in the hall. Ashley seemed heart- broken at first, but then a week later, she was on the rebound with Matthew Hickens, captain of the soccer team.

"Nathan, you know that if I don't get asked to the Prom, we can go together. And trust me, you and I both know nobody is gonna ask me!" I joked, trying to raise his spirits.

Nathan looked at me like he had snapped out of a daydream and grinned, "Absobloodylutely! But don't go turning down any offers because of me luv".

I hit him playfully on the arm; "You know I'd rather go with my best friend than any of those jerks at school! Unless some really hot mystery guy were to show up on my doorstep . . . in my dreams!"

We both burst out laughing.

- - - - - -

**Prom Night**

"ARGH! I can't do this, _Tia_! I need help fast!"

Aunt Marina's head popped into my room, "What is it dear?"

I looked desperately at her, make-up strewn all over my dresser, "I could use some help here!"

Aunt Marina chuckled loudly as she entered the room and sat next to me.

"First of all, go take a shower. You have lovely features and beautiful curly hair so you hardly need any fixing up at all. Now go!"

A few minutes later, I came out. My hair was dripping wet and I had a tense look on her face. Aunt Marina sat me on a chair and put in some gel in my hair. Then, she began rummaging through the make-up.

"Now try to relax and sit still", ordered Aunt Marina. I obeyed (at least the sitting still part). Thank god my aunt had come to help me get ready for prom.

After a few minutes of putting all sorts of stuff on my face, Aunt Marina told me to stand up. She used her fingers to brush my curls, which had dried out perfectly, into place and put in some more gel to hold them that way.

"Done!" Aunt Marina announced triumphantly.

I stood up in my lilac prom dress. My curls framed my face perfectly and the color of the dress went surprisingly well with my tanned skin. My hazel eyes were beautifully outlined with black eyeliner and purple eye shadow. The dress fell in exactly the right way and hugged all the right places, showing off my athletic build and curves. In short, I looked like one of those girls in magazines, something that would never have been noticed under my regular clothes, glasses and messy ponytails.

"God, I can't believe I am wearing a dress! This is so uncomfortable!" I whined.

"You look stunning", commented Aunt Marina.

I just scowled at the mirror. I couldn't believe I was actually going out like this.

"Well, I guess I better get going, Nathan is going to meet me at the school", I said.

Aunt Marina kissed her on the cheek before sending her downstairs, "Have fun _Julita_"

Downstairs my dad took like a million pictures of me before he finally saw me to the door. Adrian was waiting outside for me in his car. He was home for the weekend from the dorms of the University of California (he had gone for electronics engineer). He would be driving me, but Nathan said he would drive me home afterwards.

The whole drive to the school, Adrian was silent, but once we got there he told me to be careful and to have fun before kissing me on the cheek. He wasn't always annoying.

**Renbrook** **Academy** **Gymnasium**

Music boomed from the other side of the double doors I faced. I finally pushed them open and entered the gym. Hundreds of students filled the room. Tables were lined along the perimeter of the basketball court, while the court was being used as the dance floor. Couples crowded it, moving in time with the music. I made her way to an empty table. Several people pointed and whispered to each other as I passed by. Great, now I'm going to be the subject of school gossip for the next week.

I had been sitting at the table alone for about five minutes before Nathan showed up. He used the phrase 'pardon me' about a million times before he sat down next to me. We sat chatting until Nathan stood up and asked me to dance.

"I would be honored if you would give me the pleasure to dance this piece with you darlin''", Nathan said.

"You know I hate to dance. Besides, I'm no good at it", I answered from my seat.

"Have you gone mad? Stop arsing around and dance with me Julia!"

I agreed on the one condition that Nathan not do any disco dance moves he had learned from a really old John Travolta movie. After Nathan accepted the terms, we walked out onto the dance floor and started to dance.

Suddenly, the lights went out in the gym. It was quickly followed by gunshots being fired into the air. Nathan grabbed my hand so we wouldn't be separated in the dark. My eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and I tried to assess the situation from where I stood. All I could see were a lot of people running around. I knew I should have brought my communicator with me! Yeah but where would I have put it? Damn dresses!

I somehow managed to break free of Nathan's iron grip. He was surprisingly strong. I bounded off into the dark and positioned myself behind some overturned tables. If I could only get OUT of the gym, then I could get to my locker where I had some useful things stashed. I crept from cover to cover, staying out of site, which wasn't that hard since it was dark and all the chaos the students were creating was really . . . chaotic. Finally, I arrived at a door. Two guys in black were guarding it. A few swift punches and they were goners. I pulled up my dress to step over their unconscious bodies.

My heels hit the floor as I ran down the hall. God I hated dresses, I could hardly move in mine. I finally made it to my locker, where I pounded in the security code. I retrieved my 'toys' from it and thanked my lucky stars that my gym clothes were in my locker too. I took off the skirt from my dress and pulled on my black exercise pants. I rammed my feet into my sneakers and pulled a black hooded jacket over my dress top. Then I ran back down the hall, sneakers squeaking as I ran. When I arrived back at the door I had come through it was guarded again on the inside.

The lights were back on in the gym as I looked through the glass window of the double doors. I saw about ten guys tops, all armed heavily with laser guns. I gripped my ninja stars and gas pellets. The one who appeared to be the leader was actually a woman who wore the same black outfit and helmet as the others. The helmet covered most of her face except the lower half of it. She was yelling orders that I had trouble understanding. But I did catch the part she yelled at the scared students covering the floor.

"Alright, if yall cooperate, we might just let yall go. Since we ain't got all night, I'll just get to the point. I need a few of you promising young people to come with me. I'm gonna read yer names and if yall could be so kind as to let yerselves be known, we can get this done and over with quickly", the woman said in a southern drawl.

_Ten bucks she's blond, blue-eyed and from Tennessee_

I started making my plan. First of all, I need to get the lights out, for two reasons. One, it will be easier to surprise and fight them in the dark. Second, no one will be able to see me in the dark. So no one could ID me later on. So all I had to do was get to the basement and cut the electricity.

"_You should cut the electricity"  
_  
"Kitty?" I asked.

"_The one and only"_

"But how . . . " I asked, puzzled.

"_You forgot to remove your pieces again, as usual"_

My hands went to my ears, sure enough, I had on my earrings that acted as my communicator/video feed to Kitty. They must have gone with the dress, because my aunt would have said something if they had not.

"And you wait NOW to speak!" I hissed.

"_Hey you're the one who wants to go out there on your own. This is great practice. I might not always be there Julia"_

"You always have an answer for everything. How about giving me an answer to my present predicament?"

The woman had started reading names, "Michelle Godwin, Andrew Conway, Helena Verone, Nathan Lane, and Courtney Schmitt. Please don't make this harder for yall, just let yersleves be known."

_Great_

"Kitty, time's running out", I urged.

"_I'm on it"_

The lights went off. I smiled.

"Thank you Kitty"

"_The pleasure is all mine"_

I opened the doors I had been standing by and took out the two guards again. These guys just don't give up! Everyone had used the blackout as a means to escape. People were running around crazily in the dark. I kept bumping into people, but I kept my eyes peeled for the attackers. I took down about four or five more before I ran into the woman, who was dragging Michelle Godwin behind her. Michelle was a thin, frail eighth grader I had seen a few times in the hall. Her clear blue eyes were wide with fright and her light blonde hair was a mess. I grabbed the woman and pushed her to the ground. Her grip on Michelle broke loose with the fall. Michelle scampered off behind a table.

The woman stood up and charged at me. I sidestepped and she passed right by. Bad move. But she did an about face and came back at me, which caught me off guard. She rammed head first into my stomach. I doubled over her, the wind knocked out of me. I grabbed at her head, knocking the helmet off. My hands found her hair and I yanked with all my might. The woman screeched and fell to her knees, grabbing her head. Primitive methods work well too. She turned to me, her face red with anger.

"Who are you? she asked.

"Just someone who'd rather pick on her fellow classmates herself"

I finally got a good look at her. She was not the blonde haired blue-eyed I had pictured. Instead she had black hair in a messy French braid and dark, menacing eyes. Her ruby red lips were curled into a snarl and she was clawing at me. I jabbed her across the face and then right-hooked her under the chin. She fell the ground, blood coming from the corner of her mouth. Oops.

I found the other men and took care of them, tied them all up, and changed back into my dress. Once I was back in the gym, Kitty turned the lights back on. Everyone seemed okay and they had crowded around to see the 'gift- wrapped' criminals. Nathan ran up to me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Have you gone off your rocker? You scared me half to death when you disappeared like that! Are you awight?" he interrogated.

"I'm fine Nathan"

"You're a real nutter, you know that? Running off like that . . . what were you thinking?" he went on.

"_Dios mio_! Calm down! I'm FINE!"

Nathan finally calmed down and we left the prom. We drove home and he walked me to my door.

"Hope you had fun, at least before they crashed the party" he said.

"Of course I did. I even got to dance", I joked.

"You're a real head case, you know that luv?" he asked.

"You only remind me constantly", I said, rolling my eyes.

We laughed and Nathan said goodnight as he left.

- - - - - -

**Graduation Day**

I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. I just wanted to get this over with. Just if you were wondering, today was graduation day. Oh, and did I mention that I was Valedictorian and had to speak in front of the whole school? Give me a dozen baddies and I can take them out without batting an eye, but speaking in front of the school and I feel like I'm going to throw up. Great super hero I am going to be.

My dad and my brothers (Adrian had taken a few days off from college) were sitting in the third row along with my Aunt and cousins. From behind the curtain, I looked at the huge crowd gathering.

"Miss Alvarez, we are about to begin, could you take your seat?" said Mrs. Sundar.

"Of course" I said, giving the crowd one last look.

I sat down in my seat next to Miss Pavlik, my calculus teacher. She smiled at me. I smiled back just as the curtains went up.

After a long sequence of boring speeches, the principal, Mr. Delaires stood up to the podium. I glanced at him for a moment before going back to searching the sea of faces in the theatre. While Mr. Delaires was droning on about our futures, I looked at my family. My father gave me a small wave and Adrian gave me a thumbs-up sign. It was then that I got really nervous.

"Please give a warm welcome to this year's valedictorian, Miss Julia Alvarez!" announced Mr. Delaires.

I snapped my head up and stood up quickly. I walked slowly to the podium as the room was filled with applause. I shook the principal's hand before stepping up to the podium. I stared out at all the people sitting in their seats. My eyes rested on my family and it was like I finally had taken a breath of air after holding my breath. I calmed down instantly and began talking.

"Thank you Mr. Delaires. Good evening ladies and gentleman, parents and teachers, and friends. Members of the class of 2042, we are here to celebrate one of the great days in our lives. Although it is only one of many yet to come . . . "

(Okay, this part is kind of boring. Just a lot of stories and quotes and mushy stuff. Let's skip on to the end)

"As you stand at the gate of the future, I shall give you some words of advice. It is men and women who have made the world, and they have made it against all odds. I urge you to be guided by your nature. Our worst natures can, it's true, be arrogant, venal, corrupt, or selfish; but in our best selves, we can and will be joyous, adventurous, cheeky, creative, inquisitive, demanding, competitive, loving, and defiant. Be guided, if possible, by your better natures. And remember that the future belongs to those you believe in the beauty of their dreams. With that being said, it is my great pleasure to present to you the class of 2042! Good luck and many congratulations to you all"

The room filled with applause, laughter, and shouting. All the graduates flung up their hats according to tradition. Everyone started hugging each other. Students and teachers were crying and signing yearbooks. Students were going down among the parents, friends and other guests. I hopped down the stairs and into my dad's arms. He kissed me on the side of my face as I hugged him.

"I'm so proud of you", he said into my ear.

"Hey Julia, ready to party?" asked Nicole Baker, a girl in my Literature class.

"Be there in a sec Nicky!" I replied.

"See you at home dad!" I shouted before running after Nicky.

I stood in front of my family, backpack slung over my shoulder. My eyes were bright with tears.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much" I said as I hugged my brother tightly.

He smoothed my hair and kissed the top of my head, "Don't you worry. We'll be right here waiting for you when you get back. Just go have fun".

"Flight 1406 to Tokyo will begin boarding in 10 minutes" said a woman's voice over the loudspeaker.

"That's you", said my dad with a smile.

"I don't want to leave", I whispered.

"Don't be ridiculous! You've been waiting all your life to go study martial arts in this school! Julia, you're going to the best martial arts school in the world! Now let me see that gorgeous smile of yours", he said.

I gave him a weak smile.

"Come on Julia, I know you can do better than that!" he urged.

The things he did to cheer me up. I gave him my 'famous' grin.

"That's the stuff!"

"I Love You!" I said, kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you too!" dad replied.

I gave him one last big hug before going over to my brothers.

"Good luck sis and keep in touch! I wanna know what you're doing over there!" said Adrian.

"Bye Julia!" said Alex. He gave me a hug and I kissed him on the head.

Nathan was waiting silently. I walked over to him.

"I'll keep an eye on them for you luv. Just go and 'ave yourself a banging good time!"

We hugged before I made my way over to the door to immigration. I looked at my family one last time before going through the door.

- - - - - -

I looked out the window of the airplane and watched as we approached the coast of Japan. We would be landing shortly. My laptop lay on my lap. Kitty's face suddenly appeared on it.

"This is exciting, isn't it? Going to Japan to study martial arts with real masters. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity"

I just sighed and continued to look out the window, thinking.

Kitty rolled her eyes, "Could you please drop the homesick act for a moment and realize what a great time you are going to have! Your family will be there when you get back, but this only happens once in your life! So snap out of it already! Like if you won't be able to talk to them EVERYDAY over a vid-phone anyways", she said with an annoyed tone.

I looked at her and gave her a weak smile. She was right, as usual. My family was going to be there when I got back, but this only happened once in a lifetime. I might as well enjoy it. Well of course I was going to enjoy it! I was going to Japan for god's sake! Ah, life is good.

The rest of the flight was much more enjoyable. Kitty and I talked a lot about what types of martial arts I was interested in learning more about and just other vigilante talk. After a long flight, we finally began out descent into Tokyo.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please prepare for landing. We will be arriving shortly at Tokyo's International Airport. Flight attendants, please prepare for arrival", announced one of the stewards over the intercom.

I watched as the plane lowered onto the runway. The plane gave a huge jump as we touched down and a few smaller jumps until we slowed down and started to taxi into the gate.

About five minutes later, the captain announced out arrival and turned off the fasten seat belt sign. I stood up and took my rolling bag down from the overhead bin. I slung my backpack over my shoulders and packed my laptop into its pocket on my rolling bag. I filed down the aisle behind the other passengers until I finally emerged from the plane's door. I walked quickly down the terminal where a big, bright sign appeared in front of me.

**WELCOME TO TOKYO**

I smiled. Hello Tokyo, here I come!

- - - - - -

READ AND REVIEW!

- Lady Artemis -


	4. Chapter 3: Serene Seventeen

**Disclaimer:** All characters (except Julia, Angelina, Danny, and Kitty) are not owned by me and are used without permission solely for the entertainment of fan-fiction readers. Please read and review.

**Author's Note:** Hey! This chapter is to give you a view of Julia's "World". So there is a lot on martial arts and that sort of thing. Things get sticky at the end and there is a sort of cliffhanger. ENJOY!

**Chapter 3: Serene Seventeen**

I walked briskly down the dirt path in my sweat suit; sports bag slung over one shoulder. I admired the serene beauty of the lush gardens that covered the grounds of the school. The architecture of the buildings was all traditional Japanese, which I liked very much. It set me in the right mood to train and learn.

It had been about four months since I had left L.A. The first month was hard, being away from my family and friends, but the homesickness passed and I got into my new routine. I would call my dad and go on and on about how great Japan was and he would keep me informed about everything happening with the family. Part of me wanted to get back home, but the other, larger part of me was having the time of her life!

I continued my walk down the path, passing several other students on the way, some in regular clothes and others still wearing their _judogi_ suits. Several of them greeted me while others just glared at me. Some people just don't know how to loose.

Let me take a minute to explain a little about judo. You are required to wear a _judogi_. The _judogi_ consists of a loose fitting, strongly woven cotton jacket and a cotton trouser that reaches at least half way down the lower leg. The jacket is secured by an _obi_ (belt) wrapped around the waist twice and tied in front with a square knot.

Judo is practiced in a training hall called a _dojo_. The floor in a _dojo_ is covered with _tatami_ or straw mat. The modern way is to use a foam mat, but here they use the traditional straw one. Judoka compete and train barefooted and must wear their _judogi_ at all times in the _dojo_.

Etiquette plays an important part in judo. It is customary for all judoka to execute a standing bow upon both entering and leaving the _dojo_. A standing bow is also exchanged between judoka at the beginning and end of a contest, free practice, or formal practice. Formal classes always begin and end with a kneeling bow to the _sensei_.

The first thing one is taught in judo is _ukemi_ (falling), in which the arms are used as a shock absorber by striking the mat when the body impacts with the mat. The head must never touch the ground and the body must be totally relaxed.

The next phase of learning is throwing, since throwing techniques are the most extensive and most often used. Judo throws are divided into three parts: _kuzushi_, or breaking the opponent's balance; _tsukuri_, the entry of the body into a position preventing the opponent from regaining his balance; and _kake_, the actual execution of the throw. These three stages are always performed as one continuous movement from beginning to end.

Judo techniques are divided into three categories. The largest is called _tachi-waza_ (standing techniques) or _nage-waza_ (throwing techniques). Within this category are all the methods of throwing an opponent with quick, fluid actions of the body. These throwing techniques are further sub-divided into _te-waza_ (hand techniques), _koshi-waza_ (hip techniques), _ashi-waza_ (foot and leg techniques), and _sutemi-waza_ (sacrifice techniques).

I was in the most advanced class with Sensei Lenai, a short Japanese woman of about thirty something years. She was very disciplined and expected her students to be so as well, but she was not strict. Her theory was that if you were not disciplined without being told at this level, you never would. She also believed that each person must develop their own training habits so that they are comfortable.

I also took several other classes here. One of them was _Aikido_. _Aikido_ is a method of unarmed self-defense. It offers four basic advantages: it develops rhythmic movement and physical fitness, it encourages discipline and a nonviolent attitude, it promotes strength and suppleness in the joints and limbs through bending and stretching, and it increases the practitioner's awareness of posture and good body alignment, improving reactions, perception, and coordination. In _Aikido_, you learn to use an opponent's force by bringing it into his own circle, neutralizing aggressive action by gaining control of the attacker. Pretty neat, huh? I love this school!

Another class was _Bersilat_, a Malaysian form of self-defense dating to the 15th century. Conducted barefoot, it makes great use of the legs and is quite acrobatic. Training in this phase of the art is given to select students, who are forbidden to divulge its secrets. Like I'd reveal that sort of secret to anyone. Students must wear a black uniform consisting of a short-sleeved shirt, baggy trousers, and a headband. Right now I was in the yellow belt level with my black belt test coming up in about a month.

One of the more challenging classes was _Capoeira_. _Capoeira_ is a Brazilian martial art founded more than 300 years ago. It is beautiful to watch, consisting of back flips, cartwheels, sweeping movements, and spectacular kicks. Most of its defensive techniques are elusive and devoid of blocking motions. The twist to _Capoeira_ is that many of the leg sweeps, leg blocks, and kicks are performed while assuming a handstand position. Ninety percent of _Capoeira_ consists of leg movements, but the hands must also be trained, especially since they are often used to help balance while upside down. I had to really do a lot of weight training with my upper body to develop the strength to do all those moves upside down. But I always love a challenge.

One class was about the mental aspects of martial arts. It was basically about individual thinking, self-actualization, and how to maximize potential as a freethinking person. We also worked on being able to concentrate through practically any type of distraction. We did a lot of meditation and relaxation exercises. It was a helpful class, meaning helpful for my future vigilante nights. Kitty says I really needed this class.

As always, I continued to practice karate. Just not as much as before. I found the rest of my classes much more interesting. Life was good.

- - - - - -

I trudged up a flight of stairs, lugging a big bag of clean clothes. I had just done my laundry. I was living at the dorm the school had for students that came from abroad.

The dorm was a fairly new building, built a little over a year ago. It had four stories and was made of brick, unlike the rest of the school that was all traditional Japanese structures. Each floor had four large bedrooms, a living room area with big couches to watch television, a fully equipped kitchen everyone the floor shared, and two bathrooms with two showers, two toilets, and two sinks each. Each bedroom had two twin-sized beds, two desks for studying, two computers with the works, two large closets, and a Japanese screen in the middle of the room to give each occupant some privacy.

My roommate was Angelina Kumar, a very talented sixteen-year-old girl from India. She was a real beauty with perfect chocolate brown skin, big brown eyes, and long raven black hair. She always wore the traditional red dot on her forehead and lots of silver necklaces, bracelets, and rings. She usually went around with long, flowing dresses, but she was starting to experiment with modern fashion, wearing jeans and hippie type shirts. If she was not studying, she was usually training at the school or meditating in her room. She was a very spiritual person, always searching for inner peace. Something that was difficult for someone whose family was murdered before her very eyes. But she really didn't like to talk about that and was doing a very good job getting her life on track.

Angelina was lying face down on her bed, feet in the air, moving in time to the traditional Indian music she liked to listen to. I had introduced her to old age rock and new age techno music, but she seemed to be more into India Arie, Macy Gray, and Lauren Hill. Not that I didn't like them, it was just that I was more of a rock girl. I flipped her hair as I passed by her so she would know I was back. She grinned and pulled off her mp3 player.

"Hi. You do laundry?" she asked. She was still learning English, among other languages. Told you she was smart.

I nodded as I took out the neatly folded clothes from the huge duffle bag.

"We go out this evening?" asked Angelina.

"I don't really feel like it Angie, but I can tell Roselyn to take you with her. I think she, Sandra, and Mackenzie are going to Pick Up tonight" I replied.

Angelina nodded enthusiastically at the idea. Then, glancing at the clock, she stood up and smoothed out her long denim skirt. She had on a white hippie style shirt. How many of those shirts did she have now? I was going to have to tell Mackenzie to stop taking Angie shopping all the time. Angelina shouldered her tote bag.

"I go to class now with Sensei Benji. Be back by seven. Bye" she told me as she walked out.

I nodded and went back to putting my clothes away. When I was done, I cleaned up the room a bit before dropping onto my bed with a sigh. I lay there staring at the ceiling for about five minutes, when a familiar voice spoke to me.

"Have you thought about college yet?" asked Kitty.

I sighed, "Not recently"

"Don't you think you should start looking into that?"

I turned on my side to look at my laptop's screen, "Kitty, I don't know where I want to go to school or even what I would study if I were to go to school. All I know and want is for _this_ to happen".

"You can't center your life on _this_. If you let it consume you, you will become exactly what you are trying to fight against. You need to keep _this_ separate from your own life".

I nodded, "I guess"

- - - - - -

Block, kick, block, block, another block, kick, block.

"STOP!" shouted Sensei Lana.

Sweat was dripping down my forehead. My opponent, a boy named Lester, and I bowed to each other before facing out teacher.

"Very good attacks Lester. Julia, what was that? Where was your attack? You were holding back and letting Lester maul you. What happened to that famous speed and those attacks of yours?"

I bowed my head.

"Alright, let's try again. GO"

We bowed again before Lester came at me suddenly, throwing me off balance. I twisted my body to regain it and faced him. We went into an intricate series of hand motions, then I grabbed the back of his _judogi_, throwing him to the ground, he twisted around and landed on his stomach. Great. I approached him again. This time when he came at me, I jumped to the side and he passed right by me. I turned around swiftly, catching him off-guard. I stuck my leg between his feet, causing him to loose his balance, as he fell, I grabbed him and threw him down to the mat on his back.

"Excellent Julia. Lester, once again, you need to work on your defense moves. You should have been able to stay up when you lost your balance. Very good both of you, you are excused"

Angelina grinned at me as I stepped off the mat.

"You do good. Lester no beat you this time. That good. Maybe you beat him at competition"

"I don't compete Angelina, remember?" I reminded her.

"Correct, me forget that"

Then, thinking quietly, she added, "Then why you get so angry when you loose in class if you no like competing? Should you not use that for competition? Maybe you win"

I smiled sadly at her and patted her head, "It's complicated Angie. Really complicated"

Angelina just smiled.

"Common Angie, we got to get to meditation class"

Angelina got up and trotted after me.

- - - - - -

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for flying United Airlines. We hope you have a pleasant stay in Los Angeles or wherever your final destination might be"

I stood up and shouldered my backpack. My carry-on bag rolled behind me as I walked off the plane and down the hall to Customs.

After getting through Customs, I checked my suitcases. Yup, that's plural. Two huge suitcases packed with my stuff and presents. I lugged those two huge things outside until I heard my name shouted.

"JULIA!"

It was Adrian, followed closely by Alex. My dad waved from farther away. Adrian grabbed one bag and Alex took my rolling bag. Nathan appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the other suitcase. I managed to hug and kiss each one on the cheek.

"Hello Luv" Nathan said.

I ran up to my dad and gave him a huge hug.

Back at home everyone was asking questions like crazy. How was this; how was that; what did you do? I was talking really really fast and after an hour had passed I was exhausted.

My dad told everyone to leave me alone and let me rest. I went upstairs and fell asleep on my bed. It was good to be home.

_-: Flashback :-  
_  
_"You leave now?" Angelina had asked._

_"Yes Angie. School is over and we both have to go back home"_

"Me no want you to leave. Me want to go with you"

"I Angie, I want to go with you. And you can't, but maybe you can come visit me?"

"I really like that. I see if I find way to go visit you in your home"

"That would be great Angie. You keep in touch and I'll see what I can do"

"Me miss you Julie. Please say I see you again"  
  
_"You will Angie, you will"_

Angelina smiled at me. She suddenly leaped at me, hugging me tightly. Then she placed a box in my hand.

"_For you", she said._

_I opened the box to reveal a necklace. It was a silver chain and on it was a pendant made of amethyst. Amethyst was my favorite stone. Angie knew that._

"_It's beautiful", I breathed._

_Angie looked at me, "It protect you from evil spirits. It is pendant we use in India for evil things"_

_I smiled at her, "I'll cherish it always"_

"You be good and take care" Angie said tearfully.

"Bye Angie"  
  
_-: End Flashback :-_

My eyes fluttered open. How long had I been out? I sat up and got out of bed. I washed my face and mouth. I smiled as the mirror, remembering the days when I had fussed over my bracers. I placed my glasses back on my face. I put on some jeans and a black Nirvana t-shirt Angelina had given me.

I went downstairs to find the house empty. Thank god, peace and quiet. I sat down in the living room and flipped on the TV. Ah, relaxation is so good. Yes, I was glad to be home. I had work to do.

- - - - - -

READ & REVIEW!

- Lady Artemis -

* * *


	5. Chapter 4: The Decision

**Disclaimer:** All characters (except Julia, Danny, Miyax, and Kitty) are not owned by me and are used without permission solely for the entertainment of fan-fiction readers. Please read and review.

**Author's Note:** In this Chapter, Julia finally finds her way to Gotham and makes becoming a vigilante a reality. For those of you who were wondering when she would meet Terry, this is the chapter it happens in! Only she has no idea he's Batman and frankly, she doesn't really like him too much. If only she knew.

**Chapter 4: The Decision**

I had been home for a few weeks and we were sitting at dinner, when my dad asked a very important question.

"Julia, have you applied for college anywhere yet?"

I sighed, "Dad I told you, I applied to several and I got three replies. Princeton, Syracuse, and Ohio State accepted me. I'm waiting on the rest"

"Oh. I think you got a few more in the mail today", he said, handing me some envelopes.

I opened them. There were letters from Harvard, Stanford, California State, Michigan State, NYU, Florida State, Columbus, and Gotham U . . . Gotham U? I had forgotten I had even applied there. I guess I was still eight years old, looking at my mom's newspaper clippings, wanting to be a vigilante in Batman's City.

I went upstairs to my room with the letters. Kitty greeted me.

"More letters? Was it Harvard?" she asked.

"Gotham U sent me one", I blurted out.

She was silent.

"Julia dear, I think there is something you should know", she said finally.

"What?"

"There's been a new Batman in Gotham for over a year now. I would have told you before, but I wanted you to enjoy Japan"

"What! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I shouted.

"I just thought that you needed freedom in Japan to do what you wanted without having that on your mind. Are you still interested?"

That was a good question. WAS I still interested in becoming a vigilante? What WAS I going to do with my life? Was I ready to take the next step? I think that getting out of L.A. would be the best thing for me. Get away from everything my life was before and start my new life . . . a vigilante's life. It had been all I had ever wanted since my mother died. Back then it had seemed stupid, but now, now it was something real. It could really happen now.

I looked at Kitty and grinned, "Definitely"

"Maybe you should send your answer back to Gotham U then", said Kitty.

- - - - - -

**January 12, 2044**

Once again I was on a plane, but this time I wasn't planning on coming back soon. Just to visit. I was heading to MY life now. And I was going to make the most of it.

I was heading to Gotham City, New York. My dad had insisted that he rent me an apartment; he said it would be more comfortable for me than the dorm. Boy, I could have kissed him when he said that. He had just gotten rid of my biggest problem. Now I would be free to do as I pleased in my apartment. No curious roommates, no chances of anyone walking in and finding something incriminating in my dorm. That had been a huge load off me.

I was going to major in Literature at Gotham U. I had always loved writing. I just had to realize that I had to keep my own life separate from my vigilante life. Before, I had thought that I would need to major in criminology or science or something like that, to go along with me being a vigilante. Now, I knew how important it was for me to live my life normally and worry about vigilante stuff at the right times.

I arrived at Gotham International Airport and took a cab to my new home. Gotham was a huge, busy city. There were skyscrapers as far as my eyes could see. It seemed like the whole city was suspended in air. I was going to need something to fly with. Grappling hooks would do for now, but I was going to need something more practical. I was definitely going to enjoy this immensely.

My cab finally arrived at my building. It was a few blocks from Gotham Park. The area was a rather quiet one, after seeing the disorder of neighborhoods on my ride there. The street was Chestnut Drive and as I got out of the cab I smiled to see trees lining the street. It was typical of dad to choose the nicest neighborhood in downtown Gotham. I walked up the sidewalk to see that it was actually a small townhouse that my dad had rented. I smiled to myself. That was dad for you . . . always giving.

My swiped my key card in the lock at the front door and punched in the security code. I placed my hand on the blue screen and the computer scanned my handprint. After I was granted access, I lugged my luggage into the townhouse. I had three huge suitcases, my trusty backpack, and of course my laptop. I walked around to get a feel for the place.

The layout downstairs was this: you walked in the door into a small 'room' with a closet for coats, then you passed through another door to reach the entrance. There you would find a small hall the stairs leading up to the second floor. The hall led to the living room complete with an armchair, couch, and entertainment center (Digital DVD, Stereo system, MP3 player . . . the works). Another door led to the dining room with a lovely mahogany table, chairs, and china cases. Yet another door led to the kitchen, which was full of high-tech gadgets, half of which I did not know how to use. What was with all the doors? What the hell, I liked it! As I approached the window at the back of the kitchen, it slid open to reveal a beautiful porch and a small backyard. I smiled, close to tears. Wow, I really had a home!

I climbed up the stairs to find a hallway with four doors. Two were bedrooms, one was a big bathroom, and the fourth was a study. I found a trapdoor in the ceiling of the study that led to the attic. I grinned. This could work. I would need Kitty's opinion. Then, thinking, I raced downstairs and into the kitchen. Yes, there was a door that led down into a basement. I could have to decide which was best. Let the redecorating begin!

- - - - - -

**First Week of Class**

Coming out of the mathematics building, I walked through the light snow to the English building. Inside, I made my way to room 24, English 101. The room was filled with freshmen students and the professor was shouting for class to begin. He lectured on Shakespeare, telling us not to confuse all the romance and duels with real life. He wanted us to write from the heart and not use "Shakespearian" plots. No problem there for me. Not that I didn't like my Shakespeare. I just had talent for making up stories.

I had gone through the whole week without meeting many people. At least no one I could really relate to. Today I had met Miyax, a shy girl from; you won't believe it, Alaska. She was a classic Eskimo beauty. She was slightly short-limbed and small, but wired with strong muscles. Her face was pearl- round and her nose was flat. Her eyes were black and slanted gracefully on her face. Her raven black hair was silky and straight, flowing down to the middle of her back. Her voice made each word she said sound like bells. She was kind and very smart. We got along very well.

Miyax and I were walking down the hall, when all of a sudden somebody ran into us. Digital books and notebooks fell to the floor. I stooped down to pick them up and when I looked up to stand, I met a pair of icy blue eyes.

"Sorry about that, I wasn't looking where I was going", said the boy. He brushed back his dark hair with his hand.

"Maybe if you wouldn't have been yelling at your phone, you would have seen us", I replied coolly.

He smirked and handed me my digital notebook.

"I've seen you before", said Miyax.

"We're in Chemistry together, I believe", he answered.

"Oh right"

The three of us fell silent. I took this opportunity to speak.

"I'm Julia Alvarez. This is Miyax Kapugen. We're freshmen here at Gotham U", I said, reaching my hand out for him to shake.

He took my hand and shook it. He had a strong grip. "Terry McGinnis, native to Gotham City and a freshman as well. You two don't look like you're from around here".

"We're not", said Miyax.

"I'm from L.A. and Miyax here is from Alaska"

Terry raised a brow, "Really? Alaska? Wow, that's schway"

"Schway?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to the lingo here", Terry said.

I huffed, "Right".

"Yeah well, pleasure meeting you guys, but I got Calculus class. See you around!" he said as he walked off.

"That was not nice Julia", Miyax said after he left.

"Please, he was an arrogant guy trying to impress us. Did you hear him and his 'I have to go to Calculus'? Give me a break! He's lucky I let him off easy!"

"He was cute though", replied Miyax.

I glared at her.

"Well, he is", she said.

Another glare.

I had no idea how much significance that meeting would have in the future.

- - - - - -

**May 17, 2044**

I sipped a cup of coffee as I climbed the stairs to my room. My laptop sat on my dresser. Kitty appeared on it.

"Julia, could you come up to the attic a minute?" she asked.

"Sure", I said, putting down my coffee. Finals were coming up and I was studying like crazy. Well not like crazy, but I was studying.

I walked down the hall into the study. I had a PC in there. Kitty face showed up on it.

"Don't forget the CD", she said.

"Right", I grabbed the CD next to the PC.

I yanked down the trapdoor and pulled down the ladder. I climbed up into the attic.

Anyone who went in that attic would have been amazed by the number of computer screens, hard drives, modems, and wires filled the room. I had acquired all of this over the past months, working at a software company as a computer analyst. They didn't even ask for a degree of anything after I had saved their system from crashing after it had been infected with a really nasty virus. No one else had been able to. They had hired me immediately. I worked at night and took classes in the morning. I had installed a gym in my basement with gymnastics apparatuses, straw mat for martial arts, and weights for my physical training. I usually went down there at night to unwind after a long day.

Kitty's face appeared on the biggest screen. I had installed her program on every computer I owned, so she could just pop up on any computer in the house when she wanted. She could even pop up on my pocket PC if she wanted to. Not that she had . . . at least not yet.

"Okay, put the CD in the main hard drive" said Kitty.

"Kitty, I know"

"I'm just reminding you"

"Right"

"Done yet?"

"Yes, your majesty"

"Tell me when you've installed it"

"Done"

"That was fast"

"I'm good at what I do, Kitty"

I had just installed an intricate web of programs that would allow Kitty and I to access any type of information we wanted. It would hack into the system and extract the information we needed without ever being detected. It automatically made a copy and the information would be replaced . . . all in a matter of seconds. Damn was I good!

"Alright Kitty, we are up and running now"

"Yes we are"

"When do I get to go out on patrol?"

"How did I know you would ask me that?"

"Kitty!" I protested.

"Listen to me Julia. First, we have to get on Batman's good side. This means that we are going to have to play by his rules. Just for now. We're going to have to do this my way"

"What exactly is YOU'RE way?"

A picture of a Batsuit appeared on the screen. Except it was made to fit a girl and it looked like it was MY size.

"I have to wear that?" I asked, appalled.

"Just until he trusts you. Believe me, it will be easier wearing this. Later you can make changes in your costume"

"Yeah, major changes!"

"The suit will take a month to prepare. And I found some rocket boots for you"

"Schway"

- - - - - -

I was studying for English class at the school's cafeteria. I was absorbed in my book, but two loud voices broke my concentration. They were fighting.

"You never have time for me Terry! Why can't you make some time for me?" shouted a dark haired girl.

The boy I knew only as Terry McGinnis answered, "I told you, my job is very important. Mr. Wayne needs me!"

The girl scoffed, "Why can't he find other people to do all that stuff? Why does it always have to be you?"

Everyone was starting at them now, and Terry noticed them. He tried to calm the girl down.

"Dana please, can we talk about this somewhere else?"

"Why, am I embarrassing you Terry? Can't have a fight with your girlfriend in front of everyone?"

The girl turned around and marched out of the cafeteria.

Terry sighed and sat down at the end of my table.

"You should probably go after her", I said as I sipped my drink, my eyes never leaving my laptop.

"What?" Terry asked.

"After a fight like that . . . it would be a good idea to go after her and do some damage control"

"You're that girl I met the other day, aren't you. The girl from L.A.", he remarked.

"Something like that", I answered.

"I haven't seen you at any parties", said.

"Like you go to any parties . . . How many have you gone to this year? I'm going to take a guess that it's in the single digits", I said.

"And how many have you gone to?" he asked, obviously annoyed.

"More than you, that's for sure", I snickered.

"Why can't I have a normal life?" Terry sighed.

"Who does normal anymore? Normal is overrated", I said, gathering my things to leave.

"Thanks", he said.

"Thank me after you go after her. See you around McGinnis"

- - - - - -

"Kitty, I'm going out on patrol"

"Is the suit ready?"

"I tested it out last night"

"Good. Remember your communicator. Let's go out on a test run"

I put on the new suit and admired myself in the mirror. Not bad, not bad at all. I placed my communicator in my ear before pulling my mask on.

"Can you hear me?" I asked in to it.

"_Loud and clear"  
_  
"Okay I'm moving out"

"_Good luck"_

I climbed out of my bedroom window and threw a hover board into the air. It stopped right in front of me. I jumped on it and flew off into the night.

Let the games begin.

- - - - - -

READ & REVIEW!

- Lady Artemis -


	6. Chapter 5: The Meeting

**Disclaimer:** All characters (except Julia and Kitty) are not owned by me and are used without permission solely for the entertainment of fan-fiction readers. Please read and review.

**Author's Note:** Well Batman and the new Batgirl finally meet and it gets . . . interesting. Read to see what Batman thinks of Batgirl after an encounter with some baddies!

**Chapter 5: The Meeting  
**  
The night was still young . . . perhaps I had gone out a little too early. But, it was my first night on Gotham's streets and I wanted to enjoy every moment of it. I had been working all her life for this moment and all that would follow it. I watched as the last few people hurried down the street, anxious to get to the safety of their homes. The wind picked up a bit, lifting my brilliant red locks to dance along with the breeze.

I focused my attention towards the harbor. Changing my position, my figure was released by the shadows, giving a clear view of it. My body was clad in black Kleather, all save the bright yellow bat on my chest. Crouched down on powerful legs, I raised my elegant, swan-like neck, allowing a cascade of rich red hair to fall across my broad, powerful shoulders. Spread out behind me was a black cape, which would fall just past my hips when I stood. Even though my face was completely covered in a black mask, graceful features were clearly evident. Clear night-vision lenses covered bright, emerald eyes, which twinkled with anticipation.

I shifted my weight forward onto strong, muscular arms as I leaned over the edge of the building to get a better look at the street below. After getting a good view, I stood up in one swift motion, revealing a sleek, well-toned body. Moving silently across the rooftop, I pulled out a grapple from my utility belt. Just then, a familiar black object whisked by me.

Snapping my head up to watch it fly past, a grin crept onto my lips as I sprung forward after it. Running rapidly across the rooftops, I moved with amazing agility as I avoided all obstacles easily. It was obvious to any that I was well trained and practiced. I had not been training my whole life for nothing.

Halting at an edge of a rooftop, I kneeled down to get my bearings. I was on the rooftop of a warehouse on the docks. Dock number 146 to be exact. I viewed as Batman abandoned the rooftop and dropped to the ground. I knew that if I followed him, he would lead me exactly where I wanted to be.

Keeping to the shadows, I crept across the warehouse rooftop alongside the figure of Batman down below. Batman slid his way through piles of wooden crates until he finally reached a small gathering. Keeping out of site, he found a safe spot from which he could survey the situation.

From my perch up above, I was surveying the situation as well. From the looks of the men and the wooden crates they were guarding, I guessed that this was some sort of smuggling deal. The men were probably waiting for the goods to get picked up by the dealer.

The next moment, three hover cars pulled up to the group. Several men with laser guns stepped out of them, followed by the man that I knew right away was the dealer. I studied him in detail. He seemed quite young to be a dealer, somewhere in his mid twenties. He was tall, skinny yet well built, and had a certain noble air about him. He was definitely Spanish.

A few of the Spaniard's men surrounded the others, while the rest started loading the crates into the cars. The Spaniard strode up to the leader of the group. He was a very nervous, fat man, with a nest of greasy black hair, a messy mustache, and was wearing a suit that was much to large for him. As the Spaniard approached him, he began to rub his hands together nervously. The Spaniard began conversing with him immediately, most likely about business. Batman took this opportunity to make his move.

I watched as Batman threw several gas bombs into the meeting. Smoke filled the area, confusing all and causing some sort of panic. Most had heard about Batman and where not keen on meeting him in person. Batman leaped into the smoky chaos and started taking down men.

_The smoke bombs were a nice touch. Predictable, but nice_

Batman was too busy with the guards to see that the Spaniard and two of his men piling a few more crates into a hover car. The Spaniard looked quite furious at the interruption Batman had caused. But he wasn't about to get caught with such a precious cargo, so he climbed into the hover car with his men and drove off. Or at least he meant to drive off.

I had waited until the Spaniard had accelerated the car before dropping down onto the windshield of the car. Spreading out my cape to cover the whole windshield, I lingered only until the Spaniard hit the brakes and almost crashed into the brick wall of the warehouse.

When the Spaniard's men crawled out of the car, my fists greeted them. They both fell to the ground. The Spaniard had witnessed the whole incident and pulled something long and silver from the car. When I ran up to meet him, I saw that in his hand was unbelievably, a sword.

"That's original", I uttered.

"Originality is my specialty, señorita", he replied

"How lovely", I said before ramming my fist into his stomach.

The Spaniard gave a bit, but did not lose his ground. He flashed the sword expertly, but I was much too quick and agile for him to hit. Being over confident, he made several mistakes. Mistakes that gave me the opportunity I needed. I gave him a well-calculated kick to the gut and then another to the jaw. He tumbled next to his comrades.

_Arrogance is not a good quality for a criminal to have_

I whipped around to help Batman, who was not faring well. He had taken down four of the greasy man's thugs, but the Spaniard's men were too much for him . . . especially since they outnumbered him one to seven. One had Batman's arms behind him and another was punching him repeatedly.

Suddenly, the man holding Batman's arms was knocked out and Batman was free. Batman fought off the man in front of him. Soon, Batman and I had taken down the others. After he finished tying up the last guy, Batman turned to me. He studied me carefully before speaking.

"And who are you supposed to be?" he asked.

"I think that you know perfectly well who I am", I replied calmly.

"Don't tell me. You're the new Batgirl?" he said sarcastically.

"You're pretty smart Batman", I teased.

"Do you have any idea what you are getting yourself into? Or the dangers, the risks, not to mention the sacrifices involved?" he questioned.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I know about everything involved! And I am more than prepared for this", I remarked.

"I hope you know that I won't be able to save your neck every time you make a mistake", he continued.

I rolled my eyes, "Who ever said I needed your help anyways? I said I could handle _this_"

Batman looked at me for a minute, "Fine, but don't expect any support from me. And try not to screw up, _BATGIRL_, it'll reflect badly on me", he sneered before opening his wings and taking off in the night. I looked after him.

_Charming . . . men_

I chuckled before firing my grapple and whisking off into the night.

- - - - - -

Terry walked up towards the computer, where Bruce sat studying data. Ace perked his head up at the sound of Terry's footsteps echoing off the cavern walls. Terry patted his head as he passed by and stood behind Bruce's chair. On the screen was a criminal profile of the Spaniard. Terry skimmed down the profile and saw that his real name was Joaquin Cortez.

Terry glanced at Bruce, who seemed to be deeply immersed in his work. Terry sighed, knowing what was coming.

He might as well get it over with.

"The GCPD arrested the Spaniard and his men. They also caught his contact here in Gotham and his men as well. All the stolen goods are in the GCPD's possession", Terry stated, trying to break the ice.

Bruce stared at the screen hard before slowly turning his chair to face Terry, "How could you actually give her permission to continue patrolling the streets?" he boomed.

Terry winced momentarily before answering, "Look Bruce, I didn't give her permission, I told her the dangers and I told her that I was not supporting her. If she wants to continue patrolling; it's her choice", he replied.

Bruce stared at him, "I'm going to keep a very close eye on her, and if she makes one bad move, you're going to make her change her mind. I'm giving her a chance only because of the potential she showed out there tonight"

Terry breathed out a sigh of relief, "Okay, but like I told her, I'm not gonna help her. She wants to do _this_; she has to earn it herself"

Bruce smiled slightly, "I never said anything about helping her. Like you say, she has to earn her spot on this team"

Terry nodded.

- - - - - -

Batman stood at the edge of the roof of the Wayne-Powers building. It was one of the tallest in the city and gave him a good view of the east side of the city. It was his first and last stop on his nightly patrols. He silently watched the city from his perch, unaware of the shadow approaching him silently.

"This really is the best view of the city. At least for a crime-fighter it is", came a voice from behind him suddenly.

Batman whipped around to face the owner of the voice.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Hey, take it easy. I'm a good guy, remember?" I said.

"So far . . . hopefully, it'll stay that way. For your sake", he said in a dangerous voice.

"Is that a threat Bats?" I smirked.

"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked.

"Well I did just save your butt the other night. I _COULD_ have just left you to fend for yourself. But I _DIDN'T_"

"Okay, so I'm going to try to trust you, for now. How did you find me anyways?"

"I followed you silly! You should really check for people tailing you, you know. Anyone could have followed you from the bank", I pointed out.

"Okay, you've made your point" he said, annoyed.

"_Give him the information"_

"Okay" I said under my breath.

"What was that?" Batman asked.

"Here", I said, handing him a CD.

"What is it?"

"Information on Joaquin's next hit"

Batman raised an eyebrow, "How did you know his name? Where did you get that?"

I chuckled, "Don't ask questions and just take it. You'll know in due time"

Batman looked at me for a minute before taking the CD.

I turned to leave, "Oh and don't try to follow me. I usually check for people tailing me. Besides, you'd never be able to tail me"

Batman watched as I jumped off the ledge.

"Did you get all that Wayne?" Batman muttered.

"_Come back to the cave"_

"On my way"

- - - - - -

READ & REVIEW!

- Lady Artemis -


	7. Chapter 6: The Feline Felon

**Disclaimer:** All characters (except Julia, Celine, Joaquin, Isis, and Kitty) are not owned by me and are used without permission solely for the entertainment of fan-fiction readers. Please read and review.

**Author's Note:** Batman thinks they should try and see if they can trust Batgirl, but Bruce is not so sure about her. A new criminal appears, allowing Batgirl the chance to prove herself and put her new plan into motion. The next chapter will bring Batman and Batgirl closer together and finally allow them to form an alliance.

**Chapter 6: The Feline Felon**

Joaquin Cortez walked angrily down the dark hallway. His feet splashed through the puddles covering the concrete floor. A rat crossed his path before he turned to the left and started down another narrow hallway. It reeked of rat, garbage, and old water. He seemed very out of place here with his fancy suit, expensive shoes, and neatly combed hair and moustache. He arrived at an old metal door that was brown from age and mold. It creaked loudly as he pushed it open.

Inside it was very dark. The only light came from a lamp in the far corner. Joaquin flipped the switch on the wall next to him. The room filled with red light. It was filled with expensive mahogany furniture, antique Persian rugs, a Swiss grandfather clock, French lace, and many more rare furnishings. In front of him sat a huge black panther, its tail swishing slowly from side to side. Joaquin ran a hand nervously through his hair and stepped by the panther.

"Do not mind Isis. She is harmless", said a female voice.

Joaquin turned to where the voice came from. Stretched out on a couch was a beautiful woman. She had long flowing golden blond hair and two piercing blues eyes that shone like sapphires behind her golden locks. Her features were delicate and very elegant. She wore a black robe made of fine silk that fell loosely over her perfect figure. She smiled seductively at Joaquin. Joaquin swallowed hard.

"The Bat stopped the exchange, but I managed to get away with some of the goods" Joaquin started slowly, taking out something from his jacket's pocket. He handed it to the woman.

She looked down at the object in her hand. It was wrapped in white cloth. She unwrapped the cloth and took out a small statue. A grin slowly appeared on her ruby red lips. It was a bronze figure of the ancient Egyptian goddess _Bastet_ in the form of a cat with inlaid blue-glass eyes. She traced a finger across the cat's face.

"You know, cats were worshipped as sacred animals in ancient Egypt. The goddess _Bastet_ was seen as the protector of women, children, and cats of course. She was also the goddess of sunrise, music, dance, family, fertility, birth, and pleasure. Cats were held in such high esteem in those times that the penalty for killing one was death"

Joaquin only nodded.

The woman stood up, her robe flowing along with her movements. She walked up to Joaquin, her hips swaying seductively with every step. She stopped with her face inches from Joaquin's. She traced a finger across his lips before kissing him deeply. Then, she parted, a half smile on her face.

"You did well my love. It was not a total loss. I did get what I wanted, did I not?" she asked.

"You did indeed Celine. But I must ask, what was the purpose of it?" Joaquin inquired.

Celine smiled at him before turning around and lying back down on the couch, "Now they will know", she said simply.

"Know what?"

Her smile widened, "That Catwoman has returned to Gotham".

Joaquin smiled and approached the couch. He took Celine's hand and kissed it. Celine stood up and motioned him to follow.

"I must prepare for my appearance tonight. First impressions are always important. Tonight will be a night Batman will never forget. Is everything ready?"

"Of course", replied Joaquin.

"Joaquin, prepare yourself. Tonight Batman meets Catwoman"

- - - - - -

Batman stifled a yawn as he drove the Batmobile around Gotham. It had been unusually quiet that night. Something that always put Bruce more on edge. If that was possible.

"Wayne, shouldn't we call it night? It's been awfully quiet the last couple of hours. Just the usual Jokerz and a burglary or two", Batman stated.

"_McGinnis, keep your eyes open. It's been too quiet tonight. Something is going down and you need to be ready for it"_

Batman just mumbled.

As if right on cue, an alarm went off in the Batcave.

"What was that?" asked Batman.

"_Break in at the Museum of Natural History"  
_  
"I'm on it"

**Gotham Museum of Natural History**

Batman ran across the roof of the Museum of Natural History and stopped next to the skylight. He peered into the building and saw nothing. He was going to have to go in.

"I'm going in", he said into the com-link.

"_Just be careful. I don't like this at all"  
_  
"You never do"

Batman used a laser gun to cut a hole in the skylight's glass. He lowered himself through the hole and clicking on his camouflage, glided down to the floor of the museum. He crept through rooms and exhibitions, until he arrived at the Ancient Egypt section.

"Wasn't this where Batgirl had told us the next hit was?" asked Batman.

"_Yes"_

"Maybe we should have listened to her"

"_We didn't know if the information was reliable or legit. Plus, we have no reason to trust her"_

"Yet" finished Batman.

Bruce remained silent.

"Maybe we can give her a chance. She was right about the hit. She was straight with us. She hasn't done anything to compromise us, all she's done is help", Batman continued.

"_Terry, someone's there"_

Batman looked around the room . . . nothing. Then, he heard someone rummaging through one of the exhibitions. He used his night vision lenses to get a better look. It was hard before because of the shadows and darkness, but now Batman could clearly see a female figure. She was placing something in her backpack. She straightened up and seemed to be about to leave, but she suddenly came to a halt. Her back was to Batman, so he could not see the grin on her face.

"_Be still"_

Batman did not move a muscle. The girl turned around, but did not move anymore. Then, Batman was shocked to see her sniffing the air. Her head turned in his direction and she seemed to smile right at him.

"Good-evening Batman", she said.

The woman was wearing an all black, tight fitting body suit, almost identical to his own, minus the Bat sign. She had a low-slung metal belt around her waist from which hung a whip. Her mask covered the upper part of her face, but exposed her eyes, which were an amazing sapphire blue. The mask reached down to her cheeks, leaving them exposed, along with her mouth and chin. Her lips were painted ruby red. And to finish it off, two 'ears' quite like Batman's, only much smaller, crowned her head.

"I know you're there. You can stop hiding now", she said softly.

"_Turn off your camouflage Terry"_

Batman appeared in front of the woman. She smiled at him again.

"Ah, so kind of you to drop by. I knew you would come", she said.

Batman just glared at her.

"Oh dear, where are my manners? We haven't been formally introduced. I am Catwoman, the newest addition to crime in Gotham City. I've heard wonders about you. And I am dying to see if they are true", Catwoman said in a purring voice.

She strolled up to him in the same seductive way she did Joaquin Cortez. Batman's eyes widened a little, but he remained calm. Now they were face to face, only inches separating them. Catwoman smiled at him. That smile beamed with sensuality. Everything Catwoman did was sensuous. Catwoman _WAS_ sensuality, it was her most important weapon against Batman and all men. Because when men see sensuality, they become distracted. And when they are distracted, they make mistakes. And she was well trained to use those mistakes to her advantage. But Batman was going to be much harder to seduce.

"Put it back", Batman growled.

"Put what back?" Catwoman asked innocently.

Batman's glare never wavered, "Whatever it was you took, put it back. Then, you're going to jail"

Catwoman laughed. It was a light, sophisticated laugh. She traced a finger around the bat symbol on Batman's chest. Batman tensed underneath her touch.

"You wouldn't want to send a girl to jail now would you?" she said with a pout on her face.

Batman licked his lips. Catwoman leaned in closer.

"Would you?" she whispered.

"_TERRY! Snap out of it!"_

Whatever trance Batman had been in, he completely snapped out of it. His head jerked and he pushed Catwoman back from him. She seemed shocked at first, but realized that she was going to have to do things the hard way.

"I underestimated you Batman. A mistake I will not make again. Now I must bid you farewell until our next meeting", she announced.

"You're not going anywhere", said Batman.

"A girl like me doesn't fit well in a jail cell Batman. I have way too much class for that", she replied.

"I'll be sure you get your own private cell"

"Have it your way"

Catwoman grabbed the whip at her side and lashed out at Batman. The whip wrapped itself around his right arm. Catwoman yanked with all her strength to send Batman flying into a glass case headfirst. Pulling her whip loose, Catwoman made a run for it.

Batman recovered quickly and pulled himself up from the fragments of glass surrounding him. He saw Catwoman running out of the room. He leaped up and ran after her, opening his wings and firing his rocket boots. He could hear Catwoman's laughter ahead of him. Why was she laughing?

Just as he was reaching Catwoman, something very heavy fell on top of Batman. He crashed face first into the floor. He groaned and turned around to see what had fallen on him. He was shocked to see that what had fallen, or rather pounced, on him was a huge black panther. He jumped to his feet and backed away from it.

"Ah, I see you've met my pet, Isis", came Catwoman's voice from behind him.

She walked over to the panther and patted its head lovingly. She grinned at Batman before climbing onto the panther's back. Batman stepped forward towards them. Catwoman took out what looked like a marble and flung it to the floor. Batman watched as it rolled and rolled and rolled. BOOM! The explosion shattered all the windows and glass cases in the room. The panther leaped through one of the broken windows, carrying Catwoman along. Batman, who had been thrown into a wall from the blast, looked up to see Catwoman blow him a kiss before vanishing into the night.

But Batman was not about to give up that easily. He ran to the broken window and looked out to see the panther down on the street, running towards an alley. Batman launched himself into the air and followed. Catwoman spotted him and waved with a radiant smile on her face.

"I must say you are quite the adversary! But I always have loved a good challenge!" she shouted to him.

They were in the alley now. The panther jumped up onto the fire escape of one of the buildings and continued jumping until it had reached the rooftop. Batman fired his rockets to send him upwards after them. Catwoman seemed to be enjoying every moment of it.

"I wish we could continue this all night Batman, but enough games for tonight! But not to worry, we'll meet again. Believe me, we will!"

She threw a net at him. Batman got tangled up in it and began to loose altitude, but now, Catwoman had gotten some distance between them. The panther jumped from rooftop to rooftop, farther and farther from Batman. Batman had completely lost control and began a freefall. There were no buildings to break his hundred something foot fall.

"_Terry, try to fire your rockets again!"_

"I CAN'T!"

"_Mc . . . "_

Static.

Batman watched as the ground came closer and closer. He felt sick to his stomach now, just thinking how much this was going to hurt. Lucky for him, I had gotten there as fast as I could after hearing the explosion. Just in time to save his sorry ass.

Batman jerked in the air. He looked up to see me holding onto the net he was tangled up in. I was on my hover board. I flew him to the nearest rooftop and set him down on it. Then I jumped off my board and cut him loose.

"You let her get away", was all Batman said.

"Well it was either get the bad guy or let you leave a nasty mess on the sidewalk. Are you serious? I just saved your life! You could at least be grateful or say thank you!" I shouted at him. I was getting pissed.

"Okay, thank you. But you still let her get away"

"You got some serious issues Bats", I said as I turned to leave.

Batman grabbed my arm. I looked at him curiously.

"Thanks Batgirl", he said with genuine gratitude in his voice.

I smiled and nodded, "Anytime Bats"

I jumped off the roof.

_He called me Batgirl. Now we're getting somewhere._

- - - - - -

Batman jumped out of the Batmobile and walked over to Bruce, who was sitting at the Batcomputer, typing away. Batman stood behind him and removed his mask to look at the flashing images on the screen.

"You let her get away", said Bruce.

Terry groaned, "That's exactly what I told Batgirl. I'm beginning to sound like you, and that cannot be good"

Bruce turned the chair to face Terry, "Rule number one: _NEVER_ underestimate the enemy. Especially women", reprimanded Bruce.

"Hey, she was pretty damn strong for a girl and she had a _PANTHER_! Let's just say I was caught a little off guard", Terry said in his defense.

"That is not an excuse. You have to be prepared for the impossible, the inconceivable!"

"Well, she had me head over heels for her . . . literally. I almost had her there before she sent me plummeting into the sidewalk", Terry said sarcastically.

"There is no almost. You either get them or you don't", said Bruce.

"Yeah well next time I'll be ready for her. And her little pet too"

"You will be ready, because you are going to spend the rest of the night and upcoming nights in simulations. So yes, you will be ready"

"Slag it", muttered Terry.

- - - - - -

Class was so boring. I knew all this stuff already! When were we going to get to the interesting part? When did the writing start? I sat there half-asleep from boredom as the professor droned on and on about the history of literature and so on and so on.

RIIIING . . . RIIIING

Thank god for the bell. I jumped out of my seat and practically ran out of the room.

**Back at Home**

As soon as I got home, I grabbed a bag of chips from the kitchen and ran upstairs to the study room. I dropped into my very comfy computer chair and got to work. I had designed a new program that gave access to all 'super heroes' and other vigilante's to all the information I had. We had recently been studying Greek Mythology and had come across the Oracle of Delphi in one of my books.

The Oracle of Delphi dated back to 1400 B.C. and was the most important oracle in all of Greece. Built around a sacred spring, Delphi was considered to be the center of the world. People would come from all over Greece and beyond to have their questions about the future answered by the Pythia, priestess of Apollo. And her answers, usually cryptic, could determine the course of everything from when a farmer planted his seedlings, to when an empire declared war. Scholars would also congregate at Delphi, and it became a focal point for intellectual enquiry.

This had given me the idea of making the program. Kitty would be the 'face' of oracle, but in fact it would be my program doing to work. The program could answer _ANY_ question a vigilante could have and get them any information they might need. I had started a chain of contacts in the 'underworld' that supplied me with information on anything big going down. All I had to do was use one vigilante as an example that oracle really did work. After that, the others would come themselves. It was actually an ideal situation, because that example would be Batgirl and since I would be working with Batman, he would be able to back Oracle's existence. I just had to convince Batman that Oracle really did exist. Piece of cake, right?

DELPHI ALERT!

Alarms were going off all over the room. What was going on? There were no heists planned for tonight! God, I hate it when criminals take initiative!

"Kitty, report!" I commanded.

Kitty's face appeared, "There had been a break-in at D'Antonette's. The suspect had broken into the Tiger Eye Diamond safe. Gaining access to security camera feed"

The video from the camera came onto a computer screen. It was Catwoman. I should have known . . . Tiger Eye Diamond. They should have put a 'steal me' sign on it! How could she resist that?

"Kitty, can you get me a location on Batman?"

"He's arriving at the scene just now"

"Can you get a lock on a radio frequency?"

"He does have a frequency, but it has very good jamming and I can't get a lock on it"

"Great", I muttered.

I turned around and started down the ladder. I suddenly got an idea. I grabbed a pocket computer I had just programmed that morning.

"I'm getting suited up. Start up our link Kitty"

- - - - - -

READ AND REVIEW!

- Lady Artemis -


	8. Chapter 7: Batgirl Returns

**Disclaimer:** All characters (except Julia, Danny, Miyax, and Kitty) are not owned by me and are used without permission solely for the entertainment of fan-fiction readers. Please read and review.

**Chapter 7: Batgirl Returns**

**D'Antonette's **

I landed in a heap of rubble and broken glass. Jeeze, what happened here? All the jewelry was still in place out in the store, but there was one gapping hole in the wall were the safe had once stood. That's what happens when you wanna stick to the old-fashioned ways. That safe must have been like fifty years old. Modern safes were much more resistant to explosives. There were no signs of Batman or Catwoman.

"_Batman is in pursuit of Catwoman. They are heading downtown towards the old highway. They will be in the outskirts of the city soon"_

"What's out there?" I asked.

"_An old landfill, the Gotham Cemetery, a few Manors, and a couple abandoned warehouses"_

I had read about the old Catwoman, Selina Kyle and was familiar with her MO.

"Tell me about the warehouses"

"_An old gum factory, storage warehouse, Wayne Enterprises Warehouses, FoxTech Warehouses, and Government warehouses"_

"What is the storage warehouse for?"

"_It used to be the storage warehouse for a canning company"_

"The name Kitty, the name"

"_Smiley Cat Food"_

Bingo!

"That's where she's heading. I'm going to go see if I can beat them there"

"_Copy. Take 32nd street and then Albany Avenue, which should lead you right to the edge of Grant Park. Next to an old barbershop, there's a narrow road, Jefferson Lane. Take it and it will take you right to the old highway. After that, it's about ten to fifteen miles to the warehouse. You should be able to get there in less than ten minutes"  
_  
"Thanks Kitty"

I was on my bike and on my way.

**Smiley Cat Food Warehouse**

I drove my bike down a dirt road off the old highway in the outskirts of Gotham City. Thick woods surrounded me, blocking my view of the warehouse. I couldn't see farther than ten feet in front of me.

I heard something move nearby. I jumped off my bike and ran into the trees. I stopped and crouched down, waiting. A shadow passed by me. I tackled it. A surprised grunt came from the person and just as I was about to cream them, I realized that I had just attacked Batman. I froze; my fist only inches from his face.

"Batman?" I whispered loudly.

"Uh, _YEAH_ and could you get _OFF_ me?" he said.

I scrambled off him and jumped to my feet. He stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. I guess I hit him pretty hard.

"I thought you were Catwoman", I said.

"Well obviously I'm not", he said sarcastically.

We both felt pretty awkward and our eyes turned to the woods looming ahead of us.

"There's an old warehouse about a mile or so up that path", Batman pointed out.

"I know. Smiley Cat Food canning factory. They turned it into a warehouse later", I replied.

"How did you know that? And how did you know she would lead us here?" asked Batman curiously.

I smiled, "I have a contact that keeps me informed. And I knew that Catwoman would lead us here because I _KNOW_ her MO and it was the obvious choice. I really doubt she would have gone to the Cemetery or the old landfill"

"What contact?" Batman asked suspiciously.

I laughed, "Take it easy Bats. Her name is Oracle and she's got state of the art equipment. I'm the first to have the pleasure of her services", I stated, taking my big chance.

"Oracle huh?"

_Good, he seems interested_

"You want to meet her?" I asked excitedly.

"What do you mean, meet her?" Batman asked.

I took out the pocket computer I had brought with me and handed it to Batman. He looked at it curiously. I reached over and turned it on. Sure enough, Kitty's face appeared on the screen.

"Good evening Batman", said Kitty.

"You're the Oracle?" Batman asked.

Kitty smiled, "Yes. I can grant you access to any information about pretty much anything you could ever need info about"

"Sounds schway", replied Batman.

"Extremely", I added.

"How do I know you're for real?" asked Batman.

"Ah, I hoped you would ask that! All right then . . . ask me anything right now. Anything you wish to know" Kitty said.

Batman thought for a moment, "How much does hot chili cost at Dino's?"

"That's your question?" I asked him.

"50 credits", answered Kitty.

"How long does it take to get from Dino's to Cheesy Dan's?" asked Batman.

"Fifteen minutes if you take Central Avenue, eleven if you take Thirty Second Street, and five if you take the alley behind Jackie's Diner", Kitty replied automatically.

Batman raised an eyebrow. Ha! He didn't know about the alley behind Jackie's Diner!

"Who is the head of the Jokerz gang?"

"J-man"

"Who is Inque?"

"Inque is a shape-shifter, the result of a clandestine genetic experiment. She has the ability to change from her natural human form to a semi-liquid state. She can slip through even the smallest crack, making her highly difficult to capture. She can also mimic any object, making her highly dangerous as well. Inque physical abilities have made her the perfect saboteur for hire. She is quite popular with Interpol, she has been added to their most wanted files"

"Impressive", said Batman.

"Told you she could tell you anything you wanted", I said proudly.

"Could I keep this?" asked Batman.

"Of course", I said.

Any attempts he made to try and trace me from the program on that computer would be useless because I always covered my tracks. Always.

He tucked the computer into his suit.

"Let's head out", he said.

We started walking towards the warehouse. After a few minutes of walking, I started to observe Batman. He seemed very capable with his muscular build and strong legs. He wasn't much taller than me, but the way he held himself, it was like if her were ten feet taller than everyone. I continued to observe him when I noticed that he was muttering to himself. Why was he muttering to himself? I cocked my head curiously. I walked a little closer to him to see if I could overhear something.

". . . she's reliable . . . told you, I saw this Oracle for myself and she seems for real . . . let's give her a chance . . . no I don't know anything about the warehouse . . . should ask Oracle . . . fine!"

I only caught parts of it, but to me it really seemed like he was talking to someone. Of course! I should have known that Bats wasn't working solo. He seemed way too young to be _BATMAN_. After seeing him fight up close, I had come to the conclusion that he was not that tough or experienced like I would have thought he would be. This guy was definitely a rookie and I would bet my life that whoever he was talking to was the man who really _WAS_ Batman.

"Hey Bats, how much further?"

"Just a quarter of a mile"

"Really? Did the voices in your head tell you that?" I snickered.

I had made my move. Now it was up to them.

Batman stopped dead in his tracks.

"How did you . . . ", he started.

"Bats, I'm an observant person. I notice things. And you talking to yourself is something that's not that hard to miss"

"Look, it's not what it seems. I'm not crazy or anything", Batman said in an attempt to explain.

I raised a hand to silence him, "I _KNOW_. You should listen to the old man though. You shouldn't trust strange women in Kevlar until you _CAN_ trust them".

Batman's jaw dropped a bit, "How did you . . . "

I laughed, "I told you, I'm an observant person. Besides, I doubt you were the one who used to tackle with the likes of the Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman, and the Riddler back in the day!"

Batman just stared at me. Then, he turned to listen to 'the voice'. He turned back to face me.

"He says you've done your homework"

"My mother was a fan"

"Oh"

"You don't know anything about Batman's past or his legacy, do you?"

"Not really"

"You should ask him to tell you about it. You're missing out on some schway stuff"

Batman didn't say anything. He continued walking towards the warehouse. I ran up behind him and walked at his side. After a few minutes we had arrived at our destination. The old warehouse was made out of concrete. I shook my head. Who used concrete anymore? There were several broken windows and the place was overall pretty dark and creepy. Not exactly somewhere I would want to go, but hey, you gotta put up with certain things being a vigilante. This was one of them.

"We going to go in or what?" I asked Batman.

Batman turned to me. That was when I spotted Catwoman's 'pet' crouching right behind him. I lunged at him and tackled him to the ground. Isis pounced right on the spot we had just been standing at. We rolled into some bushes and I jumped up right away, pulling Batman behind.

"Common! Run!" I shouted at him.

I ran as fast as I could, Batman behind me. We ran right up to the warehouse and hid behind the corner of the wall. We stood there catching our breaths a few seconds. I raised my head to Batman.

"So, what's the game plan Bats?"

"_You_ stay here as lookout and backup while _I _find Catwoman", said Batman,

"So, in other words, _YOU_ get to have all the fun", I growled. This was not what I had in mind.

"Good, so you understand", Batman answered.

I glared at him.

Batman just turned around and crawled away. I looked after him angrily. No way was I just going to sit here doing nothing! I crawled off in another direction.

I climbed up some metal stairs to a catwalk high above the ground level. I heard voices coming from a room up ahead and crept in that direction, keeping to the shadows.

Once I got there, I took in every detail of the scene. In the middle of the room was a large pit. My eyes widened when I identified the occupants of that pit as two huge snow-white Siberian Tigers. Weren't they extinct? There were six guards posted at different locations. Catwoman was feeding the two beasts chunks of raw meat. Then, I spotted Batman creeping up towards her.

_Great . . . Batboy here is about to screw up big time_

Catwoman had her back to him, but I saw her sniff the air and grin. She knew he was there.

"So glad you could join us, Batman", she said loudly.

Batman jumped back in surprise. Catwoman whipped around to face him. Two of her henchmen grabbed him from behind. One hit him over the back of his head, knocking him out. The other dragged him towards the pit.

_Nice going Bats. Now I got to save you_

Catwoman walked over to Batman to stroke his chest and then his masked face. The henchmen held him while she removed his belt and then kissed him on the mouth.

I watched in shock as the men beat Batman up and then threw his battered body into the pit. I was blazing with anger, but held my ground, waiting for the right moment. I continued watching as Catwoman set down a bomb in the corner and then walked back up to the pit, Isis at her heels.

"It's a real shame that I must dispose of you so soon, but you'll just get in my way again.

She blew the groaning Batman a kiss before exiting the premises. My moment had come. Time to show them what I can do. I flipped on my camouflage and jumped down to the ground. I looked around to check the thugs' positions, formulated my plan and turned off the suit's camouflage. The thugs looked shocked at my presence.

"Time to dance boys", I shouted in a mocking voice.

I broke into a run and jumped, soaring over the first guy. I landed behind him and sent a kick into his back. He fell to his knees, but surprisingly recovered and whipped around, grabbing my cape. Definitely not a good move. He pulled me down to my hands and knees by pulling the cape. I shifted my weight forward to my hands and went into a handstand, using my legs to kick the guy in the chest. He fell back, giving me time to flip to my feet and execute a perfect roundhouse kick to his face, knocking him out.

_That was one down, five to go_

I dodged a punch from the next guy and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. He cried out in pain and dropped to one knee. He elbowed me in the stomach, causing me to let go of his arm. He turned to me and raised an arm to strike. But I did a back flip, landing in a crouch, then uppercut the guy below the jaw. He fell unconscious to the ground.

_Only four baddies left_

I ran forward and somersaulted in the air, landing on a crate. Two more thugs came at me. I kicked one neatly in the face and flipped over the other and onto the ground. I crouched low and tripped the man from behind. He fell forward and hit his head on the crate. He lay on the ground unconscious next to his co-worker.

_Now there was only one guy left_

Somehow, the guy had found a lead pipe since I had last seen him. I dodged several blows from the pipe before he finally hit his target. I sucked in the pain throbbing from my side and managed to punch the guy in the stomach. He doubled over, dropping the lead pipe. I gabbed him and kneed him in the face. He fell backwards to the ground. I took a few seconds to admire my handy work.

_Wait a second. One, two, three, four, five. Five? Weren't there six of them? Crap_

I smiled as I heard the last thug approaching me from behind. He was a noisy one. I could hear every step as he tried to sneak up on me. When he was right behind me, I threw a punch over my left shoulder. By the sound that followed, I guessed I had broken his nose. That's what he got for trying to sneak up on me. I turned around to see the wimp had been knocked out as well. Pathetic. I remembered about Batman and rushed over to the pit.

While I had been busy with Catwoman's henchmen, Batman had been busy with the pair of tigers that were in the pit with him. He was sore from the beating the henchmen had given him, but he was still able to defend himself. He had taken care of one tiger with a calculated kick to the head. But, the other had pinned him to the ground. Batman could see the tiger's teeth inches from his face and closed his eyes, awaiting his doom. After nothing happened after a minute or two, Batman slowly opened one eye to see me with my arms wrapped around the tiger's throat, slowly choking it.

"Mind giving me a hand Bats?" I asked in a strained voice.

Batman quickly slid from underneath the tiger and helped me bring it to the ground. I took out a tranquilizer from my utility belt and injected it into the tiger's hind leg. Once the cat drifted off into a drugged sleep, I let out a sigh of relief. We both sat down and leaned against the wall of the pit. Then remembering the important fact that there was still a _BOMB _to worry about, I shot up to my feet.

"We have to go _NOW_!" I shouted at Batman.

"Why?" Batman asked in a tired voice.

"Catwoman wired the place with explosives!"

"WHAT!"

Batman opened his wings and grabbed me. He lifted me out of the pit and dropped to the ground. We ran to the huge metal door marked _EXIT_, but it was locked. Oh god, they were _ALL_ locked. Why hadn't I learned how to pick antique locks? I kneeled by the bomb and studied it.

"We still have five minutes left" I said, handing Batman his belt, which had been hanging by the bomb.

Batman put on his belt before starting to pace the room. His eyes fell on the pit. He turned to me, a triumphant look on his face.

"We can wait in the pit until the explosion passes! Common, help me lower these guys into it"

We started to carry all the henchmen over to the pit. They were all still unconscious, so it wasn't an easy task. We lowered them all into the pit. I went back to the bomb, after only a glance and backed away from it. I turn and ran towards Batman.

"ONLY THIRTY SECONDS LEFT!" I shouted.

Batman and I ran towards the pit. I was having a little trouble running after the hit I had taken to my side. Batman noticed this and picked me up in one sweeping motion. He's done this before. He continued running to the pit. Just as we were jumping down into it, the bomb went off behind us. The force of the blast sent us both flying into the pit. When the dust and smoke settled, there was hardly anything left of the warehouse. But the pit was still intact. It had shielded us from the worst of the explosion, but Batman and I lay unconscious inside it.

**A few minutes later**

I opened my eyes and groaned as I sat up and tried to get my bearings. I looked around myself and saw Batman lying on the ground close by. I crawled over to him and placed a shaky hand on his neck to check for a pulse. I sighed in relief when I felt a strong pulse beneath my fingertips. I gently shook him to wake him up. Batman's eyes slowly opened and I helped him sit up.

I flashed him a grin, "Look like we made it! You all right Batboy?"

Batman smirked at me, "Do I detect some concern in your voice Batgirl?"

"Don't get your hopes up", I said with a laugh.

- - - - - -

I stood by my bike as Batman informed our position to the police. I was quite content with how the night had turned out. Pretty damn good for an 'amateur'. The only thing that dampened my good mood was that Catwoman had gotten away.

I smiled as I saw Batman arguing with the old man yet again. He seemed to rely a lot of his mentor, even though he was pretty capable of handling things on his own. I had been quick to judge Batman, but now I could see the potential the old guy saw in him. But since I didn't know how things were between those two, I thought it better not to mention it to Batboy.

"So when do I get to meet _THE BATMAN_, Batboy?" I asked when he was done talking.

"Give him some time. He's not very good with partners. It was hard enough convincing him to let _ME_ become Batman. It's not like he's had the best experiences with young protégés either", Batman explained.

"Oh, I wasn't serious. I don't expect to meet him at all. I mean, I would really like to meet him, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I know I have to earn his trust first. I bet Robin had it pretty rough".

"Yeah, I bet he did", Batman said thoughtfully.

"Well I guess I better head home. It's almost dawn. I suggest you get some sleep Bats", I said.

"And where would 'home' be?" he asked.

"Like I'd tell you where I live. I like being the mysterious girl who shows up just in time to save your ass. It's much more fun", I laughed.

I mounted my bike, "Don't worry Bats, the old man will probably figure it out before I tell you anyways. See you around!"

I drove down the road that led back to Gotham. I loved the feel of the wind in my face. I felt like I could do anything, like I was on top of the world. And it felt damn good!

- - - - - -

Terry stood in the hallway of the Science building at GSU. He was leaning against the wall, watching people pass by. He was thinking of Batgirl. Who was she? She was obviously very good at what she did. Better than him. He admired her skills, but he wondered what led her to choose a vigilante's life. He had chosen it to deal with the pain of his father's death. And now. well now he choose it because it had become his destiny. He had once thought that he would never do anything significant or accomplish anything in his life. But now, now he was a hero. He didn't care nobody else knew it. He knew it and that was enough for him.

Terry's eyes narrowed at the guy passing him. He was wearing a jacket with the initials GSU embroidered on it. A jock. But not just any jock, Jack Fox was _THE JOCK_. He was heir to the FoxTech empire and was the 'big man on campus'. Yeah, they still say that. Terry had thought that Nelson Nash had been bad enough. Well, this guy was way worse.

Jack was walking down the hall with his fellow jocks, when I walked by. I had on a pair of baggy jeans and a tight fitting red t-shirt. My hair was in a ponytail and my trademark glasses were low on the bridge of my nose. Jack and his gang snickered as I passed.

"There goes that geek Alvarez. She could use a make-over from your girl Victoria", they said among similar comments. They didn't even have the decency to lower their voices. Several people stopped to stare or join in their laughter.

My blood was boiling, but I was not about to make a scene here in the hallway. Besides, I had to keep a low profile. I didn't want any unnecessary attention. Jack was just what I liked to call a first class jerk. I simply ignored them and kept on walking.

"Hey geek girl!" shouted one of them.

I kept on walking.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" he shouted.

I ignored him.

He ran up by me and blocked my path. I stopped and glared at him. "Get out of my way", I said icily.

"Why don't you make me, Sugar", he said.

That did it. I pushed past him.

"Why you little . . . "

He never finished his sentence, because when he had gone to grab my arm, I had whirled around and punched him square in the face. He grabbed him nose with both hands and ran towards the bathroom. Several people clapped and cheered. Other simply stopped and stared at me. I just continued on my way. Jack and the rest of his gang stared after me.

Terry watched in shock as I passed by him. That's the L.A. girl . . . guess she's tougher than she let's on. Ha, it was about time someone showed those losers! He glanced at his watch. He was late for Calculus.

"Slag it!" he said running down the hall.

- - - - - -

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- Lady Artemis -


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